Medical College of Wisconsin
CTSICores SearchResearch InformaticsREDCap

Fatty acid synthase is required for mammary gland development and milk production during lactation. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2014 May 15;306(10):E1132-43

Date

03/29/2014

Pubmed ID

24668799

Pubmed Central ID

PMC4116404

DOI

10.1152/ajpendo.00514.2013

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84900561409 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   56 Citations

Abstract

The mammary gland is one of the few adult tissues that strongly induce de novo fatty acid synthesis upon physiological stimulation, suggesting that fatty acid is important for milk production during lactation. The committed enzyme to perform this function is fatty acid synthase (FASN). To determine whether de novo fatty acid synthesis is obligatory or dietary fat is sufficient for mammary gland development and function during lactation, Fasn was specifically knocked out in mouse mammary epithelial cells. We found that deletion of Fasn hindered the development and induced the premature involution of the lactating mammary gland and significantly decreased medium- and long-chain fatty acids and total fatty acid contents in the milk. Consequently, pups nursing from Fasn knockout mothers experienced growth retardation and preweanling death, which was rescued by cross-fostering pups to a lactating wild-type mother. These results demonstrate that FASN is essential for the development, functional competence, and maintenance of the lactating mammary gland.

Author List

Suburu J, Shi L, Wu J, Wang S, Samuel M, Thomas MJ, Kock ND, Yang G, Kridel S, Chen YQ

Author

Michael J. Thomas PhD Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Animals, Newborn
Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I
Female
Lactation
Male
Mammary Glands, Animal
Mice
Mice, Knockout
Milk