Intracrine signaling in the mammary gland

Nutrition in mammary gland health and lactation: Advances over eight Biology of Lactation in Farm Animals meetings1

Over the years, numerous studies have investigated the mechanisms controlling nutrient availability and metabolism in the mammary gland and how dietary interventions can influence these processes. The development of in vivo and in vitro systems made it possible to explore the trafficking and metabolic fate of nutrients and how these are influenced by hormones. To improve the quality and safety of milk products, attention has focused on improving animal health in general and mammary gland health in particular and also on enhancing the milk content of natural bioactive milk components that promote the health of human neonates and adults. In the past, attempts to probe the relationship among nutrition, animal health, and animal products were limited to administering single dietary components and investigating their biochemical and metabolic effects. Today, we have genomics, proteomics, and related technologies that allow us to pursue more holistic investigational strategies. These new technologies are providing new insights into interactions among nutrition, lactation, and product quality. The aim of this paper is to review advances in nutritional support of mammary gland function and health as presented in 14 yr of Biology of Lactation in Farm Animals (BOLFA) meetings.

Autocrine production of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) affects paracellular transport across epithelial cells in vitro

Autocrine production of growth factors can have significant effects on cell activity. We report for the first time that autocrine production of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) alters paracellular transport across bovine mammary epithelial cells in vitro. Paracellular transport was assessed by measuring phenol red transport across mammary alveolar cells-large T antigen (MAC-T cells) derived from parental mammary epithelial cells, cultured on porous membranes and compared with two different transfected MAC-T cell lines that constitutively secrete IGF-I. Phenol red transport was essentially blocked in parental cell culture after six days, while IGF-I secreting cells provided essentially no barrier. Surprisingly, neither co-culture studies between parental and IGF-I-secreting cells nor addition of exogenous IGF-I or IGF-binding protein-3 reversed the phenol red transport properties. IGF-I-secreting cells did however express lower levels of the junction components occludin and E-cadherin than parental cells, suggesting that localized autocrine IGF-I activity might lead to increased permeability via changes in both the tight and adherens junction protein levels.