Lactogenic hormones increase epidermal growth factor messenger RNA content of mouse mammary glands.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is known to stimulate mammary epithelial proliferation, has been identified in milk and is expressed in lactating mammary epithelia. This study examined hormonal control of EGF mRNA in mammary glands of mice. Prepro-EGF mRNA (4.7 kb) was detected during lactation (and increased significantly during this period), whereas a smaller EGF-like RNA (.5 kb) was at highest levels in mammary glands of virgin and pregnant mice. The 4.7 kb RNA was polyadenylated, whereas .5 kb RNA was not. In mammary gland organ cultures from steroid-primed mice, the combinations of insulin + hydrocortisone and insulin + prolactin + hydrocortisone increased both prepro-EGF and beta-casein mRNA expression. When hydrocortisone was present there was a decrease in mammary gland content of EGF-like RNA (.5 kb band). We conclude that prepro-EGF mRNA expression in mouse mammary tissue is under the control of the lactogenic hormones prolactin and hydrocortisone.     

Localization of peripheral benzodiazepine binding sites and diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) mRNA in mammary glands and dimethylbenz(a)antracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumors in the rat.

An association of diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI), an endogenous ligand at the benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor, with the peripheral type BDZ receptor (PBR) has been reported in the brain and a few peripheral tissues. In order to verify whether or not DBI and PBR are present in the mammary tissue, we have proceeded to the localization of DBI mRNA and PBR in rat mammary glands and DMBA-induced mammary tumors. DBI mRNA was detected by in situ hybridization using a 35S-labelled single-stranded RNA probe complementary to DBI mRNA and PBR by in vitro autoradiography using [3H]PK11195 as the ligand. In mammary glands from virgin and lactating animals, both DBI mRNA and PBR were detected in acinar cells. In dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced tumors, hybridization signal was not detected in all the cells whereas PBR appeared to be present in all the tumoral cells, although non uniformly distributed. These data indicating that mammary DMBA-induced tumoral cells contain both DBI and PBR suggest that BZD receptors might be involved in the regulation of mammary glands as well as mammary tumoral cells.     

Transgene expression in mammary glands of newborn rats

Transgene expression in the mammary glands of newborn rats was studied to establish an early selection system for transgenic animals producing exogenous proteins in their milk during lactation. A fusion gene composed of the bovine alpha S1 casein gene promoter and the human growth hormone gene was microinjected into rat embryos. Transgenic lines that produced human growth hormone in their milk were established and used in this study. Immediately after birth, and without any hormone treatment, human growth hormone was found in the extracts of mammary glands from both male and female rats derived from the line secreting human growth hormone in their milk. The expression of the transgene in mammary glands of newborn rats was also detected by the presence of human growth hormone mRNA. Nontransgenic newborn rats did not express the human growth hormone gene in their mammary glands, while the mRNA for rat alpha casein, an endogenous milk protein, was found in all mammary glands from both transgenic and nontransgenic neonates. These results show that analyzing the expression of transgenes in the mammary glands of neonates is a valuable tool to select the desired transgenic animals and to shorten the selection schedules establishing the transgenic animals. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Weaning-induced expression of a milk-fat globule protein, MFG-E8, in mouse mammary glands, as demonstrated by the analyses of its mRNA, protein and phosphatidylserine-binding activity

A milk membrane glycoprotein, MFG-E8 [milk fat globule-EGF (epidermal growth factor) factor 8], is expressed abundantly in lactating mammary glands in stage- and tissue-specific manners, and has been believed to be secreted in association with milk fat globules. In the present paper, we describe further up-regulation of MFG-E8 in involuting mammary glands, where the glands undergo a substantial increase in the rate of epithelial cell apoptosis, and a possible role of MFG-E8 in mediating recognition and engulfment of apoptotic cells through its specific binding to PS (phosphatidylserine). Immunoblotting and RNA blotting analyses revealed that both MFG-E8 protein and MFG-E8 mRNA were markedly increased in mammary tissue within 3 days of either natural or forced weaning (pup withdrawal) of lactating mice. Using immunohistochemical analysis of the mammary tissue cryosections, the MFG-E8 signal was detected around the epithelium of such involuting mammary glands, but was almost undetectable at early- and mid-lactation stages, although strong signals were obtained for milk fat globules stored in the alveolar lumen. Some signals double positive to a macrophage differentiation marker, CD68, and MFG-E8 were detected in the post-weaning mammary tissue, although such double-positive signals were much smaller in number than the MFG-E8 single-positive ones. Total MFG-E8 in milk was also increased in the post-weaning mammary glands and, furthermore, the free MFG-E8 content in the post-weaning milk, as measured by in vitro PS-binding and apoptotic HC11 cell-binding activities, was much higher than that of lactation. In addition, the post-weaning milk enhanced the binding of apoptotic HC11 cells to J774 macrophages. Sucrose density-gradient ultracentrifugation analyses revealed that such enhanced PS-binding activity of MFG-E8 was present in membrane vesicle fractions (density 1.05-1.13 g/ml), rather than milk fat globule fractions. The weaning-induced MFG-E8 might play an important role in the recognition and engulfment of apoptotic epithelial cells by the neighbouring phagocytic epithelial cells in involuting mammary glands.     

Casein and alpha-lactalbumin messenger RNAs during the development of mouse mammary gland. Isolation, partial purification, and translation in a cell-free system

Messenger RNAs for the milk proteins, casein and α-lactalbumin, were isolated and partially purified from lactating mouse mammary glands by oligo(dT)cellulose chromatography followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The translation of poly(A)⁺ mRNA in a wheat germ cell-free system yielded three casein polypeptides and a putative precursor form of α-lactalbumin which were precipitated by specific antibodies and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The casein polypeptides synthesized in vitro had a molecular weight that was no greater than that of the caseins in mouse milk. The presence of individual casein mRNAs coding for these polypeptides was demonstrated by the translation of various fractions of mRNA obtained by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of poly(A)⁺ mRNA. Casein mRNA activity increased about 250-fold between midpregnancy and the 10th–12th days of lactation, amounting to 50–60% of the total mRNA activity in that tissue. A similar study of α-lactalbumin mRNA showed an increase during lactation amounting to 0.2–0.4% of the total mRNA activity, which corresponds to the percentage of α-lactalbumin in total mouse milk protein.     

Size and Levels of mRNA for Acid Invertase in Ripe Tomato Fruit

Poly(A)⁺RNA was isolated from ripe tomato fruit and translatedin a wheat germ cell-free translation system. A 74-kDa polypeptidewas detected as a putative precursor of acid invertase by immunoprecipitationwith antiserum raised against SDS-treated acid invertase (denaturedform) from tomato fruit. The molecular mass of the mRNA foracid invertase was estimated to be about 8 ? 10⁵ Da (2.4 k nucleotides)by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Mature, green tomatofruit contained very low levels of invertase mRNA. When mature,green tomato fruit were stored at 22?C, levels of invertasemRNA per gram fresh weight increased to a maximum after fourdays and then declined. (Received May 24, 1989; Accepted May 2, 1990)     

Cortactin-binding protein 90 (CBP90) expression in the mouse mammary glands during prolactin-induced lobuloalveolar development

We have previously performed suppression subtractive hybridization to identify genes that were induced during prolactin (PRL)-driven lobuloalveolar development of the mammary gland. This suggested that cortactin-binding protein 90 (CBP90), which is known to be a brain-specific protein that binds to cortactin, was expressed under the regulation of PRL in the mammary glands (preliminary observation). In this study, the expression of CBP90 was examined in the mammary glands of mice under manipulated hormonal circumstances. PRL treatment by 9 days of pituitary grafting induced CBP90 expression in the normal mammary glands but not in the cleared fat pads, while cortactin was expressed constitutively in both the normal mammary glands and the cleared fat pads. Unlike milk proteins, longer treatment with PRL (36 days of pituitary grafting) did not increase the expression level of CBP90 mRNA, while it slightly increased the cortactin mRNA level. Mammary CBP90 mRNA expression was induced by pituitary grafting but not by progesterone treatment in PRL-deficient mice, while pituitary grafting induced mammary CBP90 expression in ovariectomized PRL-deficient mice only when estrogen and progesterone were appropriately supplemented to permit the formation of alveolar buds. The CBP90 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry in the luminal epithelium of the alveolar buds and more faintly in the ductal epithelium. Thus, from the unique expression pattern, CBP90 may be useful as a molecular marker for the hormone-stimulated development of mammary alveolar buds.     

RNA metabolism in isolated nuclei: processing and transport of immunoglobulin light chain sequences

Transport of prelabeled RNA from isolated myeloma nuclei is studied using conditions that permit RNA synthesis. Cytosol and spermidine are not required to maintain nuclear stability and inhibited RNA release. Omission of ATP or GTP decreased release 25 to 40%. The stimulatory effect of ATP or GTP is not due to hydrolysis of the triphosphates by the nuclear envelope NTPase, since addition of quercetin (an inhibitor of this NTPase) has no effect on the quantity of RNA released. The size distribution and percentage of poly A-containing species released from nuclei incubated with or without ATP or the other rNTPs are identical. Hybridization analysis of nuclear RNA before the transport assay revealed mature and precursor k light chain mRNA sequences. Following the transport assay, a significant fraction of k mRNA precursors is chased into mature k mRNA which is found both in nuclear-retained and released RNA.     

Expression of kappa-casein in normal and neoplastic rat mammary gland is under the control of prolactin

An 820-nucleotide-long cDNA clone for the kappa-casein (the casein micelle-stabilizing protein) from rat mammary gland was isolated, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence from the nucleotide sequence revealed a signal peptide, 21 amino acids long, and a mature protein of 157 amino acids. The signal peptide of rat kappa-casein was highly homologous to that of the precursor to ovine kappa-casein. However, little homology was apparent when the mature kappa-casein protein sequences from ovine or bovine sources were compared with rat kappa-casein. The kappa-casein mRNA content of the mammary tissue was found to increase during its functional differentiation. Prolactin appears to modulate the production of kappa-casein mRNA. Mammary glands of virgin females had no detectable kappa-casein mRNA; however, a marked induction of kappa-casein mRNA was obtained by intravenous infusion of prolactin. Mammary carcinomas did not follow the same pattern. 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary carcinomas had normally low levels of kappa-casein mRNA, but intravenous prolactin infusion increased the levels by 2-fold. The MTW9 mammary carcinoma that grows only in the presence of high levels of mammotropic hormones had kappa-casein mRNA content equivalent to that in 10-day lactating rat mammary gland. Continuous venous infusion of prolactin to MTW9 mammary carcinoma did not modify the kappa-casein mRNA levels. Nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary carcinomas had no detectable kappa-casein mRNA, and intravenous prolactin infusion was unable to induce it.     

Identification of a large precursor of vitellogenin mRNA in the liver of estradiol-treated chicks.

Studies were performed to determine whether vitellogenin mRNA from avian liver has a precursor molecule or not. Total cellular RNA was prepared from estradiol-treated chicken liver in the presence of 8 M guanidine HCl, 2-mercaptoethanol and aurintricarboxylic acid. After denaturation, RNA was fractionated on sodium dodecylsulfate-sucrose gradients and large size RNA was analyzed under stringent conditions on 85% formamide-sucrose gradients at 25 degrees C. RNA fractions collected from the gradients were hybridized with vitellogenin (3H)-cDNA. Besides mature vitellogenin mRNA (32S, 7,000 nucleotides) vitellogenin sequences were also found in RNA fractions ranging from 38-50S with a peak at 45-50S (12-15,000 nucleotides). Only 5-10% of the putative 38-50S pmRNA is polyadenylated. We calculated that the half-life of vitellogenin pmRNA is about 3-4 minutes. We conclude that vitellogenin mRNA has a precursor which is twice the size of the mature mRNA.     

Telomerase activation in mouse mammary tumors: lack of detectable telomere shortening and evidence for regulation of telomerase RNA with cell proliferation.

Activation of telomerase in human cancers is thought to be necessary to overcome the progressive loss of telomeric DNA that accompanies proliferation of normal somatic cells. According to this model, telomerase provides a growth advantage to cells in which extensive terminal sequence loss threatens viability. To test these ideas, we have examined telomere dynamics and telomerase activation during mammary tumorigenesis in mice carrying a mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat-driven Wnt-1 transgene. We also analyzed Wnt-1-induced mammary tumors in mice lacking p53 function. Normal mammary glands, hyperplastic mammary glands, and mammary carcinomas all had the long telomeres (20 to 50 kb) typical of Mus musculus and did not show telomere shortening during tumor development. Nevertheless, telomerase activity and the RNA component of the enzyme were consistently upregulated in Wnt-1-induced mammary tumors compared with normal and hyperplastic tissues. The upregulation of telomerase activity and RNA also occurred during tumorigenesis in p53-deficient mice. The expression of telomerase RNA correlated strongly with histone H4 mRNA in all normal tissues and tumors, indicating that the RNA component of telomerase is regulated with cell proliferation. Telomerase activity in the tumors was elevated to a greater extent than telomerase RNA, implying that the enzymatic activity of telomerase is regulated at additional levels. Our data suggest that the mechanism of telomerase activation in mouse mammary tumors is not linked to global loss of telomere function but involves multiple regulatory events including upregulation of telomerase RNA in proliferating cells.     

The presence of the milk protein, alpha-lactalbumin and its mRNA in the rat epididymis

alpha-Lactalbumin, a modifier protein that changes the substrate specificity of galactosyltransferase, to promote the synthesis of lactose, is found in the mammary glands of lactating mammals and in milk. Molecules similar to mammary gland alpha-lactalbumin but distinct in their modifier activity have been found in rat epididymal fluid. We report here, using a rat mammary gland alpha-lactalbumin cDNA clone as a hybridization probe, RNA sequences homologous to alpha-lactalbumin mRNA were detected in total RNA from the rat epididymis. This finding suggests that alpha-lactalbumin or similar molecules, in addition to regulating lactose synthesis in the mammary gland, may have other important functions in mammalian reproduction.     

Bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL) distribution in rat, mouse and transgenic mouse expressing human BSSL

 In some species, including man and mouse, bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL) in milk catalyzes the hydrolysis of triacylglycerides into glycerol and free fatty acids, a reaction that is of particular importance during suckling. The enzyme is also secreted by the pancreas (referred to as carboxyl-ester hydrolase, CEH). We wished to localize sources and storage sites for BSSL/CEH in rats, in wild-type mice, and in transgenic mice producing recombinant human BSSL in milk. Immunoreactivity against several BSSL fragments was strong in the pancreatic acinar cells and moderate in the absorptive cells of the small intestine and in salivary duct cells of the mice, as well as in rats. Sections from lactating mammary glands of mouse, but not rat, also showed immunoreactivity for BSSL; the signal was strongest in the transgenic mice. Radioactive riboprobes for BSSL mRNA hybridized on sections of rat and mouse pancreatic acinar cells, and mouse mammary glands (both wild-type and transgenic). Using RT-PCR, it was possible to amplify BSSL mRNA from wild-type mouse pancreas and mammary gland, from rat submandibular glands, and, in a few cases, from rat liver. In transgenic mice, the BSSL mRNA was highly expressed only in lactating mammary gland, but could be detected in a few other organs as well. Accepted: 31 March 1998     

Decrease in an Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Conductance in Mouse Mammary Secretory Cells after Forced Weaning

Mammary glands are physiologically active in female mammals only during nursing. Immediately after weaning, most lactation-related genes are downregulated and milk production ceases. In our previous study, we have detected an inwardly rectifying potassium channel (Kir) 2.1-like current in mammary secretory (MS) cells freshly isolated from lactating mice. This current is highly sensitive to external Ba²⁺. The potassium permeability of the Kir channels may contribute to the secretion and/or preservation of ions in milk. We hypothesized that the functions of the Kir channels in MS cells are regulated after weaning. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of forced weaning on the Ba²⁺-sensitive Kir current and Kir2.1 expression in the mouse mammary glands. Twenty-four hours after weaning, the lumina of mammary acini were histologically enlarged by milk accumulation. The whole-cell patch-clamp analyses showed that the Ba²⁺-sensitive Kir current in the post-weaning MS cells was smaller than in the lactating MS cells. The inward conductances of the current in the lactating and post-weaning cells were 4.25 ± 0.77 and 0.93 ± 0.34 nS, respectively. Furthermore, real-time PCR and Western blot analyses showed that Kir2.1 mRNA and protein expression decreased in the post-weaning mammary gland (mRNA, 90% reduction; protein, 47% reduction). Moreover, the local milk accumulation caused by teat sealing decreased Kir conductance in MS cells (2.74 ± 0.45 and 0.36 ± 0.27 nS for control and sealed mammary glands, respectively). This was concomitant with the reduction in the Kir2.1 mRNA expression. Our results suggest that milk stasis after weaning immediately decreases the Kir conductance in MS cells. This decrease in the Kir conductance may be partly caused by the reduction in the Kir2.1 mRNA and protein expression. These alterations during the post-weaning period may be involved in the cessation of ion secretion and/or preservation in the milk.