BMP-binding protein twisted gastrulation is required in mammary gland epithelium for normal ductal elongation and myoepithelial compartmentalization

Abstract The role of somatogenic and lactogenic hormones in the adaptative mechanisms which occur in response to nutrient restriction during lactation is unknown. To characterize the effect of food restriction during lactation on serum IGF-I, GH and prolactin concentrations and serum IGF-binding protein (IGFBP) profiles, lactating dams had free access to food (control) or were restricted to 60% of control intake during pregnancy and lactation (RPL) or only during lactation (RL). Serum, milk and mammary gland samples were collected throughout lactation. RL dams lost body weight, control dams gained weight, while RPL dams maintained body weight during lactation. By day 20, body and mammary gland weights of RL and RPL dams did not differ and were lower than control (P<0·05). Serum IGF-I concentrations in restricted groups were lower than control (P<0·05), however, hepatic expression of IGF-I mRNA did not differ between groups in early (day 1) or mid-lactation (day 8) and was increased on day 20 in RL dams compared with RPL or control. These data suggest that serum IGF-I and hepatic IGF-I mRNA expression are not co-ordinately regulated in the food-restricted lactating rat. In early lactation, serum IGFBP-3 was lower in RPL dams than control (P<0·05), whereas IGFBP-1 and -2 were increased in RL and RPL dams in late lactation compared with control. The decrease in IGFBP-3 and increase in lower molecular weight IGFBP may have contributed to the reduction in serum IGF-I by increasing IGF-I clearance from the circulation. Serum GH and prolactin were measured in samples obtained between 0900 and 1200 h. Serum GH did not differ with the exception of an increase on day 1 in control relative to RPL dams and on day 20 in RL dams relative to RPL and control. Serum prolactin was higher in the RL dams than controls on day 4. In summary, food restriction during pregnancy and lactation or solely during lactation results in similar reductions in serum IGF-I and alterations in serum IGFBP despite differences in body weight responses to food restriction during lactation. Journal of Endocrinology (1997) 152, 303–316

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Temporally regulated overexpression of parathyroid hormone-related protein in the mammary gland reveals distinct fetal and pubertal phenotypes

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.1710403 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 171 (3) ◽

pp. 403-416 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

ME Dunbar ◽

P Dann ◽

CW Brown ◽

J Van Houton ◽

B Dreyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mammary Gland ◽

Parathyroid Hormone ◽

Transgenic Mice ◽

Mammary Development ◽

Related Protein ◽

Parathyroid Hormone Related Protein ◽

Epithelial Cell Apoptosis ◽

Ductal Elongation ◽

Ductal Branching ◽

Lobuloalveolar Development

We have previously demonstrated that overexpression of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in the mammary glands of transgenic mice results in defects in ductal elongation and branching during puberty and in lobuloalveolar development during pregnancy. In addition, we have shown that PTHrP is necessary for the formation of the initial ductal tree during embryonic mammary development. In order to examine the effect of varying the timing of PTHrP overexpression on mammary development, we created tetracycline-regulated, K14-tTA/Tet(O)-PTHrP double transgenic mice. In this report, we document that this 'tet-off' system directs transgene expression to the mammary gland and that it is fully repressed in the presence of tetracycline. Using these mice, we demonstrate that transient overexpression of PTHrP before birth causes defects in ductal branching during puberty and that overexpression of PTHrP during puberty decreases the rate of ductal elongation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that if PTHrP overexpression is initiated after ductal morphogenesis is completed, lobuloalveolar development is unaffected. Finally, we demonstrate that the impairment in ductal elongation caused by PTHrP is associated with an increase in the basal rate of epithelial cell apoptosis in terminal end buds and a failure to increase end bud cell proliferation and decrease apoptosis in response to estrogen and progesterone.

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Expression of the genes encoding CCAAT-enhancer binding protein isoforms in the mouse mammary gland during lactation and involution

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj3340205 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 334 (1) ◽

pp. 205-210 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Georgios SABATAKOS ◽

Gareth E. DAVIES ◽

Maria GROSSE ◽

Anthony CRYER ◽

Dipak P. RAMJI

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Mammary Gland ◽

Dna Binding ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Mouse Mammary Gland ◽

Binding Activity ◽

Protein Isoforms ◽

Dna Binding Activity ◽

Enhancer Binding Protein ◽

Ccaat Enhancer Binding Protein

Transcription factors belonging to the CCAAT-enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) family have been implicated in the activation of gene expression in the mammary gland during lactation. We have therefore investigated the detailed expression profile of the C/EBP family during lactation and involution of the mouse mammary gland. The expression of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ mRNA was low during lactation, increased dramatically at the beginning of involution and remained constant thereafter. In contrast, C/EBPα mRNA expression was relatively high during the early stages of lactation, declined to low levels during the late stages of lactation and at the start of involution, and increased again during involution. Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays showed a close correlation between the expression of the C/EBP genes and the functional C/EBP DNA-binding activity and, additionally, demonstrated the participation of heterodimers, formed from among the three proteins, in DNA–protein interactions. The DNA-binding activity of the activator protein 1 (AP1) family of transcription factors was also induced during involution. These results therefore point to potentially important regulatory roles for both the C/EBP and the AP1 family during lactation and involution of the mammary gland.

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