Developmental and hormonal regulation of a mouse mammary tumour virus glycoprotein in normal mouse mammary epithelium

Abstract

A radioimmunoassay was developed and validated for the major glycoprotein (gp58) of the mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV). Using this assay, the expression of gp58 during pregnancy and lactation was found to parallel that for MMTV RNA. In particular, there was a very rapid induction in late pregnancy and a decline in late lactation, although some residual expression persisted well into involution. In cultures of normal mouse mammary tissue, induction of gp58 occurred after a 24-h lag period and began to reach a plateau after 3 days. Both the insulin and prolactin dose-response curves for gp58 resembled those for MMTV RNA; in contrast, the effects of steroid hormones on gp58 and MMTV RNA were disparate. Although progesterone stimulated the RNA, it only slightly increased gp58 levels; however, the presence of cortisol greatly augmented this stimulation, despite the inability of cortisol to induce RNA at physiological concentrations. These results suggest that insulin, prolactin and progesterone act primarily at the level of RNA accumulation in normal mammary epithelium, while cortisol affects some more distal event.