Central and peripheral inhibition of milk ejection

2001 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 135-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Wellnitz ◽  
Rupert M. Bruckmaier
1973 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 700-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Bruce ◽  
X. Cofre ◽  
V. D. Ramirez

ABSTRACT On the day following delivery (day 1 of lactation) one abdominal mammary gland was implanted with oestrogen and the contralateral gland received an empty needle. At 2, 5 or 10 days of lactation the rats were anaesthetized with pentobarbital and the nipples of both abdominal glands were cannulated and their pressures recorded by means of transducers coupled to an amplifier and recording system. The normal mammary glands of 5-day lactating rats responded to very low doses of oxytocin (Syntocinon®, Sandoz) (5× 10−8 mU) with a rhythmic elevation in pressure. However, saline infusion also evoked a small rise in intra-mammary pressure. Earlier (2 days) and later (10 days) in lactation the responses were smaller. Oestrogen decreases significantly the milk ejection response to oxytocin, and the effect was maximal at day 10 of lactation. Histological observations confirmed the diminished reaction of the gland to oxytocin, since the milk was retained in the alveoli of rats bearing a mammary-oestrogen implant. A paradoxical rise in pressure was detected in normal as well as in oestrogen-implanted glands when the lowest dose of oxytocin was injected in lactating rats which had previously received a high dose of oxytocin (50 mU or 500 mU). These results reinforce the hypothesis that oestrogen alters the milk ejection response to oxytocin and that the mechanism is probably related to changes in the contractility of the myoepithelial cells.


1971 ◽  
Vol 68 (1_Suppla) ◽  
pp. S5-S38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmuth Vorherr

ABSTRACT In lactating rats and rabbits the mode of antagonism of sympathomimetics, angiotensin or pain toward oxytocin-induced milk-ejection was investigated. In rats intra-arterial (intrafemoral) doses of 0.01–0.02 μg or intravenous (iv) doses of 0.1–0.5 μg of either epinephrine, isoproterenol, norepinephrine, angiotensin or 10 μg of phenylephrine injected simultaneously with, or 30 seconds before an oxytocin dose (10 μU intrafemoral, 300 μU iv) greatly inhibited or suppressed the oxytocin response. A 15 second pain stimulus caused moderate inhibition. With alpha-receptor blockade pain, epinephrine, isoproterenol, norepinephrine, phenylephrine and angiotensin inhibition were, respectively, 70%, 75%, 100%, 40%, 0% and 100%. Under beta-receptor blockade the corresponding values were 14%, 40%, 0%, 70%, 100% and 100%; with simultaneous intrafemoral injections neither catecholamine was inhibitory toward oxytocin. In corresponding rabbit experiments approximately 10-fold higher iv drug dosages were applied and similar results were observed. In both species, combined alpha and beta-receptor blockade nearly eliminated the antagonistic actions of sympathomimetics toward oxytocin, whereas angiotensin inhibition persisted unchanged. The results indicate: 1) Mammary myoepithelial cells contain beta-adrenergic receptors but no alpha-receptors; 2) Inhibition of oxytocin-induced milk-ejection by isoproterenol and phenylephrine is meditated through stimulation of myoepithelial beta-receptors (myoepithelial relaxation) and vascular alpha-receptors (vasoconstriction), respectively; 3) Epinephrine and norepinephrine inhibition of milk-ejection is due to stimulation of vascular alpha-receptors and myoepithelial beta-receptors; 4) Angiotensin effects are unrelated to adrenergic receptor mechanisms; 5) Administration of both alpha and beta-adrenergic blockers is desirable for stabilizing the sensitivity of the oxytocin milk-ejection assay preparation against interference from endogenous or exogenous catecholamines; 6) Other than using adrenergic blockers, pharmacologic doses of oxytocin can correct nursing difficulties in animals and man with hyperfunction of the adrenal-sympathetic system.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Marwa Brahmi ◽  
Moufida Atigui ◽  
Ihmen Hammadi ◽  
Jacques Portanguen ◽  
Mohamed Hammadi ◽  
...  

Abstract This research paper addresses the hypothesis that oxytocin (OT) could be released during suckling and during milking with and without the presence of a calf and that this release could be regulated by maternal behaviour. Plasma concentration patterns of OT and cortisol (CORT) were measured in six Tunisian dromedary camels during 2 suckling episodes, 2 manual milking episodes with calves beside the mother and 2 machine milking episodes without calves present. Various patterns of OT release were observed between each camel including specific two peak release patterns. Higher plasma OT concentrations were found during the suckling and hand-milking episodes with simultaneous suckling of calves, than during the machine milking episodes without calves. Exclusive mechanical milking episodes also evoked significant mean OT release, although greatly reduced compared to suckling and hand milking. The low basal levels and classical CORT release patterns suggested non-stressful management practices were used and there were very limited differences in udder stimulation between managements. The OT release induced by exclusive suckling and suckling together with hand-milking gives a reference point for what a good milk ejection stimulation is in camels. The important and specific reduction of OT release during machine milking without the calf present could be a physiological consequence of the maternal behaviour (selectivity for the own young) and to a lesser extent explained by a lower stimulation by machine milking.


Endocrinology ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN S. TINDAL ◽  
AKIRA YOKOYAMA
Keyword(s):  

1981 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. JUSS ◽  
J. B. WAKERLEY

Experiments were performed on anaesthetized lactating rats to investigate the effects of radiofrequency lesions of the mesencephalon on the milk-ejection reflex. In lesioned and control rats, intramammary pressure recordings were used to estimate oxytocin release (number and relative amplitude of the intermittent milk-ejection responses) during a 3-h suckling test with ten pups. Bilateral lesions (diameter 0·5–1·5 mm) of the lateral tegmentum (near the brachium of the inferior colliculus and medial geniculate body) seriously disrupted the milk-ejection reflex, reducing the number of rats ejecting milk (two out of ten v. all 12 controls, P<0·001) and the amount of oxytocin they released (1·35±0·35 (s.e.m.) v. 15·52±2·19 mu. for controls, P<0·05). Unilateral lesions of the lateral tegmentum also impaired milk ejection and, if the suckling stimulus was restricted only to the contralateral nipples, oxytocin release was virtually abolished. Bilateral lesions placed more medially in the intermediate tegmentum were far less disruptive (eight out of nine rats ejected milk), though the amount of oxytocin released in this group (8·64±1·88 mu.) was still significantly (P<0·05) lower than controls. All rats with lesions of the central grey (nine) or ventral tegmentum (eight) displayed reflex milk ejection, as did those with multiple lesions of the tectum, central grey and ventral tegmentum (seven); in these three groups the amounts of oxytocin released (13·88±2·68, 13·10±1·90 and 11·04±1·95 mu. respectively) did not differ significantly from controls. Damage to the ventral tegmentum produced an irregular pattern of milk ejection characterized by occasional abnormally short (<2 min) milk-ejection intervals, though the overall number of responses in 3 h was less than that of controls (20·83±1·82 v. 14·50±1·30 mu., P<0·05). In conclusion, these results delineate two mesencephalic areas of particular importance in the milk-ejection reflex: (a) the lateral tegmentum, which appears to be concerned with transmission of the suckling stimulus from the contralateral nipples and is indispensable for oxytocin release, and (b) the ventral tegmentum which, although not an essential component of the reflex, may contribute to the timing of the intermittent milk-ejection responses.


1983 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 2226-2235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon T. Goodman ◽  
Clark E. Grosvenor

2000 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Wang ◽  
H Wolosker ◽  
J Pevsner ◽  
SH Snyder ◽  
DJ Selkoe

Little evidence is available for the physiological function of D-amino acids in species other than bacteria. Here we demonstrate that naturally occurring freed -aspartate (D-Asp) is present in all magnocellular neurons of rat hypothalamus. The levels of this naturally occurring D-amino acid were elevated during lactation and returned to normal thereafter in the magnocellular neurosecretory system, which produces oxytocin, a hormone responsible for milk ejection during lactation. Intraperitoneal injections of D-Asp reproducibly increased oxytocin gene expression and decreased the concentration of circulating oxytocin in vivo. Similar changes were observed in the vasopressin system. These results provide evidence for the role(s) of naturally occurring free D-Asp in mammalian physiology. The findings argue against the conventional concept that only L-stereoisomers of amino acids are functional in higher species.


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