STAGE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION OF MILK-FAT GLOBULE-MEMBRANE GLYCOPROTEINS IN MOUSE MAMMARY-GLAND - COMPARISON OF MFG-E8, BUTYROPHILIN, AND CD36 WITH A MAJOR MILK PROTEIN, BETA-CASEIN

The expression of mouse milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) glycoproteins , MFG-E8, butyrophilin, CD36 was analyzed by Northern blot analyses. M FG-E8 and butyrophilin mRNAs were specifically detected in the mammary gland of lactating mice, whereas CD36 mRNA was detected in the heart and lung as well as in the mammary gland of lactating mice. The mRNAs of the three MFGM glycoproteins accumulated at mid-lactation were abou t 2-10-times as much as those of the early and late gestation stages, whereas beta-casein mRNA accumulation was dramatically increased; the mRNA at mid-lactation was no less than 40-times as much as that before lactation. In mouse mammary epithelial cell lines, HC11 and COMMA-1D, only a slight or almost no enhancement for the expression of MFG-E8, butyrophilin and CD36 mRNAs was induced simply by the treatment with t he lactogenic hormones such as prolactin, insulin and dexamethasone, w hereas the beta-casein mRNA expression was remarkably enhanced only by that treatment. Furthermore, while the beta-casein protein was consta ntly detected in milk throughout the lactation stage, the content of M FG-E8 and butyrophilin proteins increased during the lactation with an increase in the milk fat content. These results suggest that the stag e-specific expression of milk fat globule membrane glycoproteins in ma mmary epithelial cells is regulated in a similar but not necessarily i dentical mechanism to that of a major milk protein, beta-casein.