Relationship between serum prolactin and mammary gland T cell population in early lactating rats

MACKERN OBERTI JP; NAVAS P; PENNACCHIO GE; GONZALEZ A; MARIN C; VALDEZ SR; JAHN GA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; First French - Argentine Immunology Congress; 2010

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Mammary stroma is composed of various cells, among them migratory leukocytes. Mammary lymphocytes are important during lactation, supplying maternal antibodies to milk. Recruitment of IgA secreting cells increases from parturition to late lactation. The role of recruited T cells during pregnancy is unclear, but may be related to epithelial cell growth, protection against infections and immune response regulation. This homing pattern suggests that T cell recruitment is controlled by pregnancy- and lactation-specific stimuli. Our aim is to study the relationship between serum prolactin (PRL) levels and mammary T-cell populations in early lactation in order to increase the knowledge in hormone-induced lymphocyte homing events. Female Sprague Dawley (SD) and OFA (SD derived desmoglein 4 -/- hairless phenotype with lactation deficit) rats were sacrificed at day 2 postpartum and trunk blood, mammary gland (MG) and corpora lutea (CL) were obtained to perform FACS, histological and RIA studies. Serum PRL was lower in OFA (16±3ng/ml n=12) than in SD rats (34±7ng/ml n=13; p