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Concentration-dependent differntial effects of cortisol on synthesis of α-lactalbumin and of casein in cultured mouse mammary gland explants: Importance of prolactin concentration

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Cortisol was previously shown to elicit a concentration-dependent inhibition of α-lactalbumin accumulation in midpregnant mouse mammary gland cultured in medium containing optimal concentrations of 5 μg/ml prolactin and insulin. In contrast, casein accumulation under these conditions was progressively stimulated by addition of increasing amounts of cortisol (Ono, M.; Oka, T. Cell 19: 473–480; 1980). In the present study we found that in the presence of a suboptimal concentration of 0.5 μg/ml prolactin, 2.8×10−9 M to 2.8×10−7 M cortisol stimulated α-lactalbumin accumulation. Furthermore, higher concentrations of cortisol produced a smaller inhibition of α-lactalbumin accumulation as compared to that obtained in cultures containing 5 μg/ml prolactin. The maximal increase in α-lactalbumin accumulation attained in the presence of 1.4×10−8 M cortisol, 0.5 μg/ml prolactin, and insulin was comparable to that observed in culture containing 5 μg/ml prolactin and insulin. Similar results were obtained in a cortisol concentration-response study of α-lactalbumin accumulation in cultures containing a suboptimal concentration of 0.5 μg/ml human placental lactogen. Measurement of the rate of α-lactalbumin synthesis in cultured tissue indicated that the opposing effects of low and high concentrations of cortisol on α-lactalbumin accumulation involved an alteration in the rate of synthesis of the milk protein. In contrast to α-lactalbumin, the synthesis of casein was stimulated in a concentration-dependent manner by addition of cortisol that acted synergistically with either 0.5 μg/ml or 5 μg/ml prolactin. The maximal increases were obtained in the presence of 2.8×10−6 M cortisol. These results indicated that the action of cortisol on α-lactalbumin accumulation can be modulated by the concentration, of prolactin and suggest that the interplay between cortisol and prolactin in regulation of α-lactalbumin synthesis may be different from that involved in casein synthesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Disease, National Institutes of Health, 20205, Bethesda, Maryland

    Masayoshi Ono, John W. Perry & Takami Oka

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  1. Masayoshi Ono
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  2. John W. Perry
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  3. Takami Oka
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Ono, M., Perry, J.W. & Oka, T. Concentration-dependent differntial effects of cortisol on synthesis of α-lactalbumin and of casein in cultured mouse mammary gland explants: Importance of prolactin concentration. In Vitro 17, 121–128 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618068

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02618068

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