INVESTIGADORES
FRAUNHOFFER NAVARRO Nicolas Alejandro
artículos
Título:
Estradiol, progesterone and prolactin modulate mammary gland morphogenesis in adult female plains vizcacha
Autor/es:
HALPERIN JULIA; DORFMAN VERONICA B.; FRAUNHOFFER NICOLAS.; VITULLO ALFREDO D.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR HISTOLOGY
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2013 vol. 44 p. 299 - 310
ISSN:
1567-2379
Resumen:
We studied for the first time the mammary gland morphogenesis and its hormonal modulation by immunolocalizing estradiol, progesterone and prolactin receptors (ER, PR and PRLR) in adult females of Lagostomus maximus, a caviomorph rodent which shows a pseudo-ovulatory process at mid-gestation. Mammary ductal system of non-pregnant females lacks expression of both ERa and ERb. Yet throughout pregnancy, ERa and ERb levels increase as well as the expression of PR. These increments are concomitant with ductal branching and alveolar differentiation. Even though mammary gland morphology is quite similar to that described for other rodents, alveolar proliferation and differentiation are accelerated towards the second half of pregnancy, once pseudo-ovulation had occurred. Moreover, this exponential growth correlates with an increment of both progesterone and estradiol serum-induced pseudo-ovulation. As expected, PR and PRLR are strongly expressed in the alveolar epithelium during pregnancy and lactation. Strikingly, PRLR is also present in ductal epithelia of cycling glands suggesting that prolactin function may not be restricted to its trophic effect on mammary glands of pregnant and lactating females, but it also regulates other physiological processes in mammary glands of non-pregnant animals. In conclusion, this report suggests that pseudo-ovulation at mid-gestation may be associated to L. maximus mammary gland growth and differentiation. The rise in progesterone and estradiol-induced pseudo-ovulation as well as the increased expression of their receptors, all events that correlate with the development of a more elaborated and differentiated ductal network, pinpoint a possible relation between this peculiar physiological event and mammary gland morphogenesis.