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Expression of the whey acidic protein in transgenic pigs impairs mammary development

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Abstract

The whey acidic protein has been found in milk of mice, rats, rabbits and camels, and its gene is expressed specifically in mammary tissue at late pregnancy and throughout lactation. A characteristic of whey acidic protein is the ‘four-disulfide-core’ signature which is also present in proteins involved in organ development. We have generated six lines of transgenic pigs which carry a mouse whey acidic protein transgene and express it at high levels in their mammary glands. Transgenic sows from three lines could not produce sufficient quantities of milk to support normal development of healthy offspring. This phenotype appears to be similar, if not identical, to themilchlos phenotype exhibited by mice expressing whey acidic protein transgenes. Mammary tissue from post-partummilchlos sows had an immature histological appearance, which was distinct from that observed during normal development or involution. Expression of the whey acidic protein transgene was found in mammary tissue from sexually immature pigs frommilchlos lines, but not in sows from lines that appeared to lactate normally. We suggest that precocious synthesis of whey acidic protein impairs mammary development and function. Impaired mammary development due to inappropriate timing of whey acidic protein expression is consistent with the notion that proteins with the ‘four-disulfide-core’ signature participate in tissue formation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry and Metabolism, NIDDK, National Institute of Health, 20982, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Avi Shamay & Lothar Hennighausen

  2. Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 20725, Beltsville, MD, USA

    Vernon G. Pursel & Robert J. Wall

  3. Department of Pathobiology, The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, 37901-1071, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Erby Wilkinson

Authors
  1. Avi Shamay
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  2. Vernon G. Pursel
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  3. Erby Wilkinson
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  4. Robert J. Wall
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  5. Lothar Hennighausen
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Shamay, A., Pursel, V.G., Wilkinson, E. et al. Expression of the whey acidic protein in transgenic pigs impairs mammary development. Transgenic Research 1, 124–132 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02528777

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02528777

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