Perturbed prolactin (PRL) secretion and concomitant downregulation of PRL receptor (PRLR) in periparturient dams exposed to altered gravity are linked to aberrant lipogenesis and reduced neonatal survival. PRL and glucocorticoids (GC) are known to modulate PRLR expression. We hypothesized that improving levels of PRLR would mitigate the increased gravity [hypergravity (HG)]-induced effects of impaired mammary lipogenesis and increase neonatal survival. The objective of this study was to determine if prepartum PRL or GC supplementation would override the HG-induced repression of PRLR along with lipogenic genes and increase tissue fatty acid synthesis. Pregnant rats were exposed to either 2g (HG) or kept at 1g (control) from day 11 of gestation (G11) through Postnatal day 1 (P1). HG exposed rats were supplemented with either PRL or corticosterone or a placebo from G13 to P1. On P1, mammary, liver and adipose tissues were collected to measure glucose incorporation into lipids and mRNA abundance of PRL long and short form receptors (Prlr-l, Prlr-s), glucocorticoid receptor (Nr3c1), Acetyl CoA carboxylase-alpha (Acaca), fatty acid synthase (Fasn), lipoprotein lipase (Lpl), Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein-1 (Srebp1) and protein kinase B (Akt1) genes by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). PRL and GC supplementation had a limited effect on lipogenesis in the three tissues of HG group likely due to their inability to increase abundance of key down-regulated genes, including Prlr-l and Nr3c1. There was no difference in the abundance of genes coding for milk proteins or those associated with milk fat globule formation and secretion. These data suggest that reduced lipogenesis in HG exposed dams is independent of PRL and GC secretion but may be associated with dysregulation of multiple metabolic regulators at the level of mRNA expression.

Exposure of rat dams to hypergravity during pregnancy is associated with increased pup mortality, reduced food intake, and decreased rates of glucose oxidation and lipogenesis in mammary tissue. We hypothesized that increased pup mortality is due to changes in maternal metabolism and not to reduced food intake of dams. Effects of hypergravity on rate of glucose oxidation and lipogenesis in mammary, liver, and adipose tissue were measured in rat dams centrifuged at 2.0 G [hypergravity (HG)], kept at 1.0 G (control), or fed to match the intake of HG rats (pair fed) from gestation day 11 (G11) until G21 or postpartum day 3 (P3). Body weight, percent body fat, metabolizable energy, and nitrogen balance were significantly less in HG dams compared with controls (P<0.05); however, these factors were not different between HG and pair-fed dams. By P3, 100% of control and pair-fed pups survived, while only 49% of HG pups survived. At G21, rates of glucose oxidation and lipogenesis in mammary and adipose tissue were less in HG than in control and pair-fed dams (P<0.1 and P<0.05). In liver, at G21, the rate of lipogenesis was greater in HG than control and pair-fed dams (P<0.01); at P3, lipogenesis was greater in control than HG and pair-fed dams (P<0.05). Gene expression of ATP citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fatty acid synthase increased in liver from pregnancy to lactation in control and pair-fed dams but not HG dams. Thus reduced food intake and body mass due to hypergravity exposure cannot explain the dramatic decrease in HG pup survival.

SummaryAltered gravity load induced by spaceflight (microgravity) and centrifugation (hypergravity) is associated with changes in circadian, metabolic, and reproductive systems. Exposure to 2-g hypergravity (HG) during pregnancy and lactation decreased rate of mammary metabolic activity and increased pup mortality. We hypothesize HG disrupted maternal homeorhetic responses to pregnancy and lactation are due to changes in maternal metabolism, hormone concentrations, and maternal behavior related to gravity induced alterations in circadian clocks. Effect of HG exposure on mammary, liver and adipose tissue metabolism, plasma hormones and maternal behavior were analyzed in rat dams from mid-pregnancy (Gestational day [G]11) through early lactation (Postnatal day [P]3); comparisons were made across five time-points: G20, G21, P0 (labor and delivery), P1 and P3. Blood, mammary, liver, and adipose tissue were collected for analyzing plasma hormones, glucose oxidation to CO2 and incorporation into lipids, or gene expression. Maternal behavioral phenotyping was conducted using time-lapse videographic analyses. Dam and fetal-pup body mass were significantly reduced in HG in all age groups. HG did not affect labor and delivery; however, HG pups experienced a greater rate of mortality. PRL, corticosterone, and insulin levels and receptor genes were altered by HG. Mammary, liver and adipose tissue metabolism and expression of genes that regulate lipid metabolism were altered by HG exposure. Exposure to HG significantly changed expression of core clock genes in mammary and liver and circadian rhythms of maternal behavior. Gravity load alterations in dam's circadian system may have impacted homeorhetic adaptations needed for a successful lactation.

Transforming growth factor-a (TGF-a) stimulates while TGF-b inhibits mammary epithelial cell growth, suggesting that when cells are treated concurrently with the growth factors their combined effects would result in no net growth. However, combined treatments stimulate proliferation and cellular transformation in several cell lines. The objective of this paper was to describe the effect of long-term (6 days) concurrent TGF-a and TGF-b treatment on normal mammary epithelial cell growth pattern, morphology, and gene expression. Growth curve analysis showed that TGF-a enhanced while TGF-b suppressed growth rate until Day 4, when cells entered lag phase. However, cells treated concurrently with both growth factors exhibited a dichotomous pattern of growth marked by growth and death phases (with no intermittent lag phase). These changes in growth patterns were due to a marked induction of cell death from Day 2 (16.5%) to Day 4 (89.5%), resulting in the transition from growth to death phases, even though the combined treated cultures had significantly more (P < 0.05) cells in S phase on Day 4. TGF-b stimulated epithelial to mesenchyme transdifferentiation (EMT) in the presence of TGF-a, as characterized by increased expression of fibronectin and changes in TGF-b receptor binding. Expression patterns of genes that regulate the cell cycle showed significant interaction between treatment and days, with TGF-b overriding TGF-a-stimulated effects on gene expression. Overall, the combined treatments were marked by enhanced rates of cellular proliferation, death, and transdifferentiation, behaviors reminiscent of breast tumors, and thus this system may serve as a good model to study breast tumorigenesis.