Autocrine control in milk production and mammary development

C.J. Wilde, C.V.P. Addey, C.H. Knight, M. Peaker

Hannah Research Institute, AYR KA6 5HL, United Kingdom

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1991, 51: 203-210

In dairy animals, the development and secretory activity of each mammary gland in the udder is regulated independently by local mechanisms sensitive to the frequency and efficiency of milk removal. Acute regulation of milk secretion occurs through autocrine inhibition by a secreted milk constituent, which may act by modulating the sensitivity of the tissue to circulating hormones. Sustained changes in milking frequency or efficiency are associated with modulation of secretory cell differentiation and, ultimately, the number of secretory cells. Elucidation of these local intra-mammary mechanisms offers the prospect of controlling milk secretion in a novel and more specific manner than has hitherto been possible.

Keywords: NZSAPAB; Milk secretion; autocrine control; mammary development

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Last Updated 25-01-1997