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Hormonal Actions on Mammary Metabolism

Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616

ABSTRACT

Introduction

A number of hormones act and interact in a complex fashion to regulate mammary secretory cell formation, development, and function. Several aspects of these hormone actions have been studied intensively and reviewed in recent years (12, 17, 25, 26, 44). Actions of hormones to regulate metabolism of fully developed mammary secretory cells during lactation, however, have not been studied extensively and have not been specifically reviewed recently. For these reasons, emphasis in this speculative review is upon recent studies which elucidate specific regulatory roles of several lactogenic hormones during lactation. In separate sections, roles of insulin and glucocorticoids in regulation of mammary energy metabolism and lipogenesis; regulation of lactose, protein, and nucleic acid synthesis postpartum; and the possible role of cAMP in the regulation of mammary metabolism will be discussed.

Insulin. During lactation insulin apparently acts in two ways. First, it appears that insulin is essential for the maintenance or survival of (nonruminant) secretory cells since several workers (25, 36, 49) have observed that if insulin insufficiency in vivo is prolonged (36 to 48 h), secretory cell losses occur, and administration of insulin thereafter cannot restore normal milk yields.