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The physiology of the normal human breast: an exploratory study

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Abstract

The physiology of the nonlactating human breast likely plays a key role in factors that contribute to the etiology of breast cancer and other breast conditions. Although there has been extensive research into the physiology of lactation, few reports explore the physiology of the resting mammary gland, including mechanisms by which compounds such as hormones, drugs, and potential carcinogens enter the breast ducts. The purpose of this study was to explore transport of exogenous drugs into ductal fluid in nonlactating women and determine if their concentrations in the fluid are similar to those observed in the breast milk of lactating women. We selected two compounds that have been well characterized during lactation, caffeine and cimetidine. Caffeine passively diffuses into breast milk, but cimetidine is actively transported and concentrated in breast milk. After ingestion of caffeine and cimetidine, 14 nonlactating subjects had blood drawn and underwent ductal lavage at five time points over 12 h to measure drug levels in the fluid and blood. The concentrations of both caffeine and cimetidine in lavage fluid were substantially less than those observed in breast milk. Our results support recent evidence that the cimetidine transporter is not expressed in the nonlactating mammary gland, and highlight intriguing differences in the physiology and molecular transport of the lactating and nonlactating breast. The findings of this exploratory study warrant further exploration into the physiology of the nonlactating mammary gland to elucidate factors involved in disease initiation and progression.

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Abbreviations

NAF:

Nipple aspirate fluid

BCRP:

Breast cancer resistance protein

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Patrick McNamara at University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Karl Karnaky at the Medical University of South Carolina, and Patrick Sinko at Rutgers University, New Jersey for helpful discussions. We thank the Avon Foundation for funding and all of our volunteers for their dedication and contributions to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, 2811 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Santa Monica, CA, 90403, USA

    Dixie Mills, Eva J. Gordon, Ashley Casano, Sarah Michelle Lahti, Tinh Nguyen, Alex Preston, Julie Tondre, Kuan Wu, Tiffany Yanase & Susan M. Love

  2. Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 3131 Reed, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Henry Chan & David Chia

  3. Department of Statistics, University of California-Los Angeles, 8125 Math Sciences Building, 520 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Mahtash Esfandiari & Tiffany Himmel

Authors
  1. Dixie Mills
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  2. Eva J. Gordon
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  3. Ashley Casano
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  4. Sarah Michelle Lahti
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  5. Tinh Nguyen
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  6. Alex Preston
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  7. Julie Tondre
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  8. Kuan Wu
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  9. Tiffany Yanase
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  10. Henry Chan
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  11. David Chia
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  13. Tiffany Himmel
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  14. Susan M. Love
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Correspondence to Susan M. Love.

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Mills, D., Gordon, E.J., Casano, A. et al. The physiology of the normal human breast: an exploratory study. J Physiol Biochem 67, 621–627 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-011-0109-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-011-0109-z

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