Cellular and Molecular Aspects of the Hormonal Control of Mammary Function

Neville, Margaret C.; Berga, Sally E.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3688-4_5

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 212 publications

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“…As discussed earlier, in vitro studies have implicated these hormones as requirements for optimal milk supply (6,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)17); however, information is lacking in regard to their corrective roles in vivo. In the present study, the levels of corticosterone, unlike previous works, were not altered by the degree of diabetes induced here nor by the insulin treatments used (39)(40)(41)(42)56).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Glucocorticoids are necessary for the proper maintenance of lactation, but the levels at which they should be present is unsettled (6,16). In mammary gland cultures, glucocorticoids, like prolactin, have been shown to enhance casein gene expression (10,17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In mammary gland cultures, glucocorticoids, like prolactin, have been shown to enhance casein gene expression (10,17). Suckling has been shown to stimulate release of prolactin (7,(18)(19)(20)(21), glucocorticoids (6,22), and insulin Milk ejection, the second phase of lactation, is primarily a neural reflex mediated by the pulsatile release of oxytocin in response to the suclung stimulus of the pups (26). Factors such as stress come into play in hindering normal milk release (27)(28)(29).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Lactation in the Rat

Lau

Sullivan

Hazelwood

1993

Experimental Biology and Medicine

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Diabetes mellitus adversely affects the process of lactation. Although insulin administration restores lactation, the manner by which it does so is unknown. The goals of this study were to determine which phase of lactation, milk synthesis/supply (MS), and/or milk release (MR) was affected. Inasmuch as insulin, corticosterone, and prolactin, among other hormones, are involved in milk synthesis in vitro, this study investigated their probable roles in the suppression of lactation in diabetes in vivo. Diabetes was induced in rats on Day 3 postpartum with streptozotocin (50-60 mg/kg, ip). Milk synthesis/supply and milk release were indirectly monitored using body weight gain of pups during a timed-feeding period on postnatal Days 8/9 and 13/14. Plasma corticosterone, insulin, C-peptide, and prolactin were measured by radioimmunoassay in control, diabetic, and insulin-replaced diabetic animals. Insulin replacement was provided by means of an osmotic minipump implanted subcutaneously in the nape of the neck. In addition, several parameters of maternal behavior were monitored in order to determine whether diabetes affected maternal behavior and, therefore, whether such changes played a role in the alterations of lactation observed during diabetes. Diabetes significantly suppressed MS and MR. However, the decrease in MR, which was restored after partial insulin replacement, was a reflection of the reduced MS. There were no significant differences between the parameters of maternal behavior monitored in control and diabetic animals. Blood glucose in diabetic dams was significantly increased over that of controls. Although the levels of plasma glucose in the insulin-replaced groups were significantly lower than those of their uncontrolled diabetic counterparts, they also remained higher than that of controls. Corticosterone was not significantly altered after induction of diabetes. Insulin and C-peptide levels were significantly reduced in the uncontrolled diabetics; however, insulin levels were corrected in the insulin-replaced groups. Serum levels of prolactin decreased in all diabetic groups and insulin failed to restore these levels to those of control animals. In conclusion, it appears that diabetes decreases lactation through a suppressive effect on MS rather than on MR, with insulin replacement correcting for such deficiency. In addition, despite the lactogenic importance of glucocorticoids, prolactin and insulin demonstrated in vitro, lactation in vivo can be corrected without returning the levels of all three hormones to normal. The importance of another factor(s), such as normoglycemia, as essential to the observed defects, needs to be investigated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Lactation in the Rat

Lau

Sullivan

Hazelwood

1993

Experimental Biology and Medicine

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“…However, several laboratories [122,123] have now shown that sustained estriol, at physiological levels, is fully estrogenic. Estrogens have a well-est~blished [124] effect on mammary gland growth and differentiation. They also promote prolactin secretion from the anterior pituitary [125][126][127].…”

Section: Hormonesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of progesterone are not seen on mammary epithelial cells in culture [138] and may well involve induction of growth factor secretion by the surrounding stroma. An important physiological role of progesterone may be to prevent terminal differentiation of mammary epithelium during pregnancy [124].…”

Section: Hormonesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress in understanding breast cancer: Epidemiological and biological interactions

Boyle

Leake

1988

Breast Cancer Res Tr

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Little progress has been made recently in our understanding of the epidemiology of breast cancer. While results from epidemiologic studies regarding reproductive factors remain fairly reproducible from one study to another, other associations such as that between breast cancer risk and dietary fat intake, although biologically plausible, are not consistently found in direct study of humans, while yet other associations, which appear less plausible biologically, become stronger (such as the increased risk associated with modest levels of alcohol consumption). In this paper we attempt to review the epidemiology and biology of breast cancer jointly and describe possible mechanisms of breast cancer induction, the cellular composition of the breast, the epidemiology of breast cancer, and salient biological features, and attempt to reconcile the biology and epidemiology. It becomes obvious that future progress depends on better biological thinking by epidemiologists, and vice-versa. Areas of further research are suggested and discussed, concluding that the ability to measure diet with greater precision could have an important role to play in clarifying our understanding of breast cancer.

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Lactation and Stress: Protective Effects of Breast-feeding in Humans

Heinrichs

Neumann

Ehlert

2002

Stress

140

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Whilst most research on breast-feeding has been designed to assess its importance for infant health or to find a human nutrient replacement for infant formula, the effects of breast-feeding on maternal health have received little scientific attention. In several animal studies lactation has been shown to be associated with a marked blunting of physiological and behavioral responses to physical and psychological stress. However, the literature on the effects of lactation on stress in humans remains limited. This review focuses primarily on recent findings on the effects of breast-feeding on neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to acute stress exposure in lactating women. The available data suggest that breast-feeding suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to physical and psychosocial stress. However, lactation in women, in contrast to lactating rats, does not seem to result in a general restraint of the endocrine stress response during the whole period of lactation. Recent data strongly suggest that the blunted HPA axis response to stress in women seems to be counterbalanced if the acute stressor, at least when of a psychosocial nature, occurs later than 1 h after suckling. Further elucidation of the underlying psychobiological mechanisms involved in suppressed stress responses during lactation will no doubt lead to new insights into improved health sequelae of breast-feeding in women and to a better understanding of the psychobiology of human stress protection in general.

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Cellular and Molecular Aspects of the Hormonal Control of Mammary Function

Cited by 9 publications

References 212 publications

Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Lactation in the Rat

Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Lactation in the Rat

Progress in understanding breast cancer: Epidemiological and biological interactions

Lactation and Stress: Protective Effects of Breast-feeding in Humans

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