Effects of Feeding Prepubertal Heifers a High-Energy Diet for Three, Six, or Twelve Weeks on Mammary Growth and Composition

Abstract

The experimental objective was to determine the effects of feeding prepubertal dairy heifers a high-energy diet for 3, 6, or 12wk on mammary growth and composition. Holstein heifers (age = 11wk; body weight = 107±1kg) were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments (n=16/ treatment). The treatment period lasted 12wk and treatments were H0 (low-energy diet fed for 12 wk, with no weeks on the high-energy diet); H3 (low-energy diet fed for 9wk, followed by the high-energy diet for 3 wk); H6 (low-energy diet fed for 6wk, followed by the high-energy diet for 6wk); and H12 (high-energy diet for all 12wk). The low- and high-energy diets were formulated to achieve 0.6 and 1.2kg of average daily gain, respectively. Heifers were slaughtered at 23wk of age and mammary tissue was collected. A longer duration of feeding the high-energy diet increased total mass of the mammary gland, extraparenchymal fat, and intraparenchymal fat, but did not alter the mass of fat-free parenchymal tissue. When adjusted for carcass weight to reflect differences in physical maturity, the mass of fat-free parenchymal tissue decreased in a linear fashion with a longer duration on the high-energy diet. Total masses of mammary parenchymal DNA and RNA were not different. However, after adjustment for carcass weight, the masses of DNA and RNA decreased as heifers were fed the high-energy diet for a longer duration. The percentages of epithelium, stroma, and lumen, the number of epithelial structures, and the developmental scores of mammary parenchymal tissue were not different among treatments. However, the percentage of proliferating epithelial cells in the terminal ductal units, as indicated by Ki-67 labeling, decreased as heifers were fed the high-energy diet for a longer duration. We concluded that feeding prepubertal heifers a high-energy diet for a longer duration resulted in a linear decrease in both the percentage of mammary epithelial cells that were proliferating and in the mass of fat-free mammary parenchyma per unit of carcass. High-energy feeding hastens puberty and, in this study, decreased mammary epithelial cell proliferation in areas of active ductal expansion. These data are consistent with the idea that feeding heifers a high-energy diet will reduce mammary parenchymal mass at puberty.