scholarly journals Stereospecific biosynthesis of triacylglycerols in mammary glands from lactating rats

1978 ◽  
Vol 174 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Cooper ◽  
M R Grigor

Microsomal plus cytosol preparations from the mammary gland of lactating rats are capable of incorporating palmitic acid and oleic acid into triacylglycerols. These triacylglycerols are similar in structure to those found in rat milk, where palmitic acid tends to be confined to the sn-2-position of the glycerol. Both glycerol 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate function as acyl acceptors. The enzymic synthesis of triacylglycerols appears in late pregnancy, increases rapidly during early lactation, but disappears within 3 days of weaning.

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 884
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Haslin ◽  
Rene A. Corner-Thomas ◽  
Paul R. Kenyon ◽  
Adrian J. Molenaar ◽  
Stephen T. Morris ◽  
...  

The experiment aimed to examine the impacts of an increased growth rate of ewes between three and seven months of age on udder development using ultrasound and to establish whether ultrasonography could be used to identify ewe mammary structures that may be indirect indicators of singleton growth to weaning. Udder dimensions, depths of gland cistern (GC), parenchyma (PAR) and fat pad (FP) were measured in late pregnancy (P107), early lactation (L29), and at weaning (L100) in 59 single-bearing yearling ewes selected from two treatments. The ‘heavy’ group (n = 31) was preferentially fed prior to breeding achieving an average breeding live-weight of 47.9 ± 0.38 kg at seven months of age. The ‘control’ group (n = 28) had an average breeding live-weight of 44.9 ± 0.49 kg. Udder dimensions, GC, PAR and FP did not differ between treatments. Lamb growth to L100 was positively associated (p < 0.05) with PAR at P107 and GC at L29. There was no evidence of negative effects of the live-weight gain treatments on udder development of yearling ewes as measured by ultrasonography. The results suggest that this ultrasound method has the potential to identify pregnant yearling ewes which would wean heavier singletons.


1957 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. BRADLEY ◽  
G. M. MITCHELL

SUMMARY Slices cut from mammary glands of rats and mice during gestation and lactation were incubated in vitro in the presence of pig posterior pituitary lobe extracts rich in melanophore-dispersing ('B') activity. Slices taken in early lactation but not during gestation or late lactation showed increased net gas evolution compared with control slices. Similar tissue from rabbits and guinea-pigs did not give rise to this effect, nor did slices of other tissues taken from lactating rats. The increased net gas evolution was not observed in the absence of glucose from the incubation medium. Treatment of the 'B' extract with NaOH or hypophysectomy of the rats prior to use decreased the response.


1962 ◽  
Vol 203 (5) ◽  
pp. 939-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Moon

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was used as an index of the cellular state of the rat mammary gland in late pregnancy ( day 20) and early ( day 1), intense ( day 14), and declining ( day 28) lactation. Dams sacrificed on day 28 of lactation were provided with foster litters on day 14 postpartum to insure a strong sucking stimulus during the lactation period from days 14–28. Mammary DNA increased 57% from day 20 of pregnancy to lactation day 14, but no significant change in DNA content was evident by day 1 of lactation. A significantly lower DNA concentration was observed in mammary glands of rats sacrificed at lactation day 28 when compared with that of animals killed at day 14 of lactation. The data suggest that cellular proliferation of mammary gland continues well into lactation and that a decline in lactation may be due, in part, to a reduction in the number of milk-secreting cells.


1973 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. G. CHALLIS ◽  
J. L. LINZELL

SUMMARY Since blood oestrogen levels are much higher during pregnancy in the goat than in the sheep a continuous isotope infusion technique was used to study oestrone metabolism in five experiments on two goats during late pregnancy and early lactation. The metabolic clearance rate was similar to that in the sheep in all experiments (mean value ± s.e.m., 4·02 ± 0·25 1/min); therefore the high blood oestrone concentrations in late pregnancy (851–2043 pg/ml) were due to high oestrone production rates (4·22–7·54 μg/min). There was some conversion of oestrone to oestradiol-17β by the mammary glands and other tissues (mean conversion ratio 17·1%) and a little (< 10%) binding of oestrone to erythrocytes. The uptake of oestrone by the mammary gland corresponded to < 3% of the total production rate. These results are compared with those obtained for other steroid hormones (progesterone, cortisol) in the goat and sheep.


1999 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
YN Ilkbahar ◽  
G Thordarson ◽  
IG Camarillo ◽  
F Talamantes

Increasing evidence suggests that GH is important in normal mammary gland development. To investigate this further, we studied the distribution and levels of growth hormone receptor (GHR) and GH-binding protein (GHBP) in the mouse mammary gland. At three weeks of age, the epithelial component of the right fourth inguinal mammary gland of female mice was removed. These animals were then either maintained as virgins until they were killed or they were mated. One group of the mated mice was killed on day 18 of pregnancy and the remaining mated animals were allowed to carry their pups until term and were killed on day 6 of lactation. At the time of death, both the intact left and the de-epithelialized right mammary glands were collected from all three groups. Some of the intact glands served as a source of epithelial cells, free of stroma. The mRNA levels for GHR and GHBP were measured in intact glands, epithelia-cleared fat pads, and isolated mammary epithelial cells. GHR and GHBP mRNAs were expressed in both the mammary epithelium and stroma. However, the levels of both GHR and GHBP mRNAs were significantly higher in the stroma as compared with the epithelium component. This increase for both mRNAs was from 3- to 12-fold at each physiological state examined. In the intact gland, both GHR and GHBP transcripts were highest in virgins, declined during late pregnancy, and the lowest levels were found in the lactating gland. GHBP and GHR protein concentrations were also assessed in intact glands and epithelia-free fat pads. Similar to the mRNAs, GHR and GHBP protein levels (means+/-s.e.m.) in intact glands were highest in virgin mice (0.891+/-0.15 pmoles/mg protein and 0.136+/-0.26 pmoles/mg protein respectively), declined during late pregnancy (0. 354+/-0.111 pmoles/mg protein and 0.178+/-0.039 pmoles/mg protein respectively), and were lowest during lactation (0.096+0.037 pmoles/mg protein and 0.017+0.006 pmoles/mg protein respectively). Immunocytochemistry utilizing specific antisera against mouse (m) GHR and mGHBP revealed that the two proteins are localized to both the stroma and parenchyma of mouse mammary glands, with similar patterns of immunostaining throughout the different physiological stages analyzed. GHR immunolocalized to the plasma membrane and cytosol of mammary epithelial cells and adipocytes, whereas the GHBP immunostaining was nuclear and cytosolic. In conclusion, we report here that GHR and GHBP mRNAs and proteins are expressed in both the epithelium and the stroma of mammary glands of virgin, pregnant, and lactating mice. In intact glands, GHR and GHBP proteins, as well as their transcripts are higher in abundance in virgin relative to lactating mice. At all physiological stages, GHR and GHBP mRNA levels are higher in the stroma compared with the parenchyma. These findings indicate that the actions of GH in the mammary gland are both direct through its binding to the epithelia, and indirect by binding to the stroma and stimulation of IGF-I production which, in turn, affects mammary epithelial development.


1968 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. HEITZMAN

SUMMARY The activities of uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) pyrophosphorylase and UDPG-4′-epimerase in mammary glands of rabbits were determined in late pregnancy and lactation. The activities in animals during the last 4 days of pregnancy and during days 0–4, 5–9 and 11–21 of lactation increased but the difference in the activities was significant between the days 5–9 and 11–21 only and for the pyrophosphorylase activity between days for 0–4 and 5–9. Prolactin and cortisol acetate given daily for 3 or 5 days to rabbits pseudopregnant for 15 days caused increases in enzyme activities that were several times greater than those found in controls. The enzyme activities in the stimulated glands were similar to those observed in early lactation. The levels of deoxyribonucleic acid/g. wet tissue were the same in the stimulated and lactating glands.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (3) ◽  
pp. R237-R247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Shao ◽  
Theresa L. Wellman ◽  
Karen M. Lounsbury ◽  
Feng-Qi Zhao

Glucose is a major substrate for milk synthesis and is taken up from the blood by mammary epithelial cells (MECs) through facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs). The expression levels of GLUT1 and GLUT8 are upregulated dramatically in the mammary gland from late pregnancy through early lactation stages. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that this increase in GLUT1 and GLUT8 expression involves hypoxia signaling through hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in MECs. Mouse mammary glands showed significantly more hypoxia in midpregnancy through early lactation stages compared with in the virgin stage, as stained by the hypoxia marker pimonidazole HCl. Treatment with hypoxia (2% O2) significantly stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT1 mRNA and protein expression, but decreased GLUT8 mRNA expression in bovine MECs. In MECs, hypoxia also increased the levels of HIF-1α protein in the nuclei, and siRNA against HIF-1α completely abolished the hypoxia-induced upregulation of GLUT1, while having no effect on GLUT8 expression. A 5′-RCGTG-3′ core HIF-1α binding sequence was identified 3.7 kb upstream of the bovine GLUT1 gene, and HIF-1α binding to this site was increased during hypoxia. In conclusion, the mammary glands in pregnant and lactating animals are hypoxic, and MECs respond to this hypoxia by increasing GLUT1 expression and glucose uptake through a HIF-1α-dependent mechanism. GLUT8 expression, however, is negatively regulated by hypoxia through a HIF-1α-independent pathway. The regulation of glucose transporters through hypoxia-mediated gene transcription in the mammary gland may provide an important physiological mechanism for MECs to meet the metabolic demands of mammary development and lactation.


1970 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Subbaiah ◽  
P. S. Sastry ◽  
J. Ganguly

1. The presence of an active acyl-CoA–lysolecithin (1-acylglycerophosphorylcholine) acyltransferase was demonstrated in rat intestinal mucosa. 2. ATP and CoA were necessary for the incorporation of free [1-14C]oleic acid into lecithin (phosphatidylcholine). 3. The reaction was about 20 times as fast with [1-14C]oleoyl-CoA as with free oleic acid, CoA and ATP. 4. With 1-acylglycerophosphorylcholine as the acceptor, both oleic acid and palmitic acid were incorporated into the β-position of lecithin; the incorporation of palmitic acid was 60% of that of oleic acid. 5. Of the various analogues of lysolecithin tested as acyl acceptors from [1-14C]oleoyl CoA, a lysolecithin with a long-chain fatty acid at the 1-position was most efficient. 6. The enzyme was mostly present in the brush-border-free particulate fraction of the intestinal mucosa. 7. Of the various tissues of rats tested for the activity, intestinal mucosa was found to be the most active, with testes, liver, kidneys and spleen following it in decreasing order.


2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 466-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Payan-Carreira ◽  
Ana C. Martins-Bessa

The aim of this study is to characterise the feline mammary echotexture using B-mode ultrasonography, which is not routinely used to examine the feline mammary gland. Using a 5–9 MHz linear transducer the ultrasonographic appearance of non-stimulated and stimulated mammary glands was determined in 35 mature intact non-pregnant, pregnant and lactating queens aged from 16 months to 8 years. In intact non-pregnant queens, mammary glands are fairly underdeveloped and on the ultrasonograms they appear with a regular hypoechoic texture and generally show a thickness of less than 2.0 mm. The stimulated mammary tissue typically presents a more hyperechoic appearance compared to the non-stimulated gland and a fine granular echotexture. Maximum echogenicity of the mammary gland is reached during lactation. In late pregnancy, the mammary glands reach 6–9 mm in thickness. During lactation, the size of the glands depends on the existence of a suckling stimulus, with the suckled glands reaching about 11 mm in thickness. Ductal structures can only be imaged during late pregnancy and lactation. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the feline mammary gland can become a valuable diagnostic tool to characterise physiological changes and may further contribute to a better characterisation of diseased mammary tissue.


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