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Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 48, 1463-1475, July 2007 Cytoplasmic lipid droplet accumulation in developing mammary epithelial cells: roles of adipophilin and lipid metabolism
* Graduate Programs in Molecular Biology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO Published, JLR Papers in Press, April 23, 2007.
1 T. D. Russell and C. A. Palmer contributed equally to these studies.
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: jim.mcmanaman{at}uchsc.edu
PAT proteins (perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) are hypothesized to be critical regulators of lipid accumulation in eukaryotic cells. We investigated the developmental relationships between the expression of these proteins and cytoplasmic lipid droplet (CLD) accumulation in differentiating secretory epithelial cells in mouse mammary glands. Adipophilin (ADPH) specifically localized to CLD in differentiating and lactating mammary glands and was found exclusively in the secreted lipid droplet fraction of mouse milk. ADPH transcripts were selectively detected in secretory epithelial cells, and steady-state levels of both ADPH mRNA and protein increased during secretory differentiation in patterns consistent with functional linkage to CLD accumulation. TIP47 also was detected in secretory epithelial cells; however, it had a diffuse punctate appearance, and its mRNA and protein expression patterns did not correlate with CLD accumulation. Perilipin-positive adipose cells and steady-state levels of perilipin mRNA and protein decreased during mammary gland differentiation, suggesting a progressive loss of adipose lipid storage during this process. Collectively, these data demonstrate that increased ADPH expression is a specialized property of differentiated secretory epithelial cells and provide developmental evidence specifically linking increased ADPH expression to increased CLD accumulation. In addition, evidence is presented that the epithelial and adipose compartments of the mammary gland undergo concerted, developmentally regulated shifts in lipid metabolism that increase the availability of fatty acids necessary for lipid synthesis by milk-secreting cells.
Supplementary key words perilipin mammary gland adipose fatty acid cytoplasmic lipid droplet differentiation triglyceride
Lipids are a key constituent of milk, providing a large proportion of neonatal calories and essential fatty acids required for membrane synthesis. In many species, the lactating mammary gland is among the most active lipogenic organs in the body (1, 2). Functional differentiation of the mammary gland occurs during pregnancy with the formation and growth of alveoli, which are the milk-secreting units of the mammary gland (3, 4). Alveoli are composed of a single layer of secretory epithelial cells that actively synthesize and secrete proteins, sugars, and lipids into milk (5). Unlike milk proteins and sugars, which are secreted by classical secretory vesicle pathways (5), milk lipids are secreted by a unique membrane envelopment process (5, 6). Milk lipids originate from triglyceride and cholesteryl esters, which are synthesized by enzymes located on the endoplasmic reticulum and are released as protein-coated cytoplasmic lipid droplets (CLDs) (5). For secretion into milk, CLDs contact and become progressively enveloped by the apical plasma membrane (6, 7) before being released into the lumina of mammary alveoli as membrane-coated structures known as milk fat globules (MFGs). Despite the nutritional importance of milk lipids and the prominence of lipid biogenesis and secretion to the function of alveolar epithelial cells, the factors regulating the formation and secretion of CLDs remain poorly defined. The PAT (for perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) family of lipid droplet-associated proteins is thought to play a key role in regulating the formation and secretion of CLDs (5, 810). Although perilipin has limited tissue expression (9, 1115), adipophilin (ADPH) and TIP47 are thought to be expressed ubiquitously (1618). TIP47 was coincidentally discovered as a placenta-specific gene known as the 48 kDa placental protein 17b, or PP17b (19, 20), as well as an endocytic vesicle-trafficking protein (21). Subsequently, others speculated that TIP47 may also localize to lipid droplets (10, 22). Cellular levels of ADPH have been shown to correlate with lipid accumulation in a variety of cells and tissues (2329). This protein localizes to CLD in many mammalian cell types, including mammary epithelial cells, and is hypothesized to play a key role in CLD formation (16, 17, 30, 31). Furthermore, recent studies showing that exogenous expression of ADPH can increase CLD and triacylglycerol accumulation in cell culture models provide direct evidence that ADPH can modulate CLD levels (3234). Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrating that ADPH forms a stable complex with xanthine oxidoreductase and butyrophilin (35), two proteins critically required for milk lipid secretion (36, 37), implicate ADPH in both the formation and secretion of CLDs. However, evidence linking ADPH expression to CLD formation in the mammary gland is lacking, and possible contributions of other PAT proteins to these processes have not been investigated. Histological studies (7) demonstrated that CLDs begin to accumulate in the secretory epithelium of the mouse mammary gland during the last half of pregnancy, in conjunction with the differentiation of alveoli; however, the mechanisms regulating this accumulation have not been defined. Cell culture studies have demonstrated that ADPH mRNA levels increase in differentiating adipocytes (16), and previous studies have shown that ADPH localizes to CLDs in differentiating mouse mammary glands (2). However, ADPH expression in the developing mammary gland has not been examined, and it is unclear to what extent ADPH expression is related to CLD accumulation during mammary gland differentiation or whether other PAT proteins are involved. In this study, we define the localization and developmental relationships between PAT protein expression and CLD accumulation in the differentiating mouse mammary gland. Our results indicate that CLD accumulation in differentiating secretory epithelial cells is a sequentially ordered process initiated by increased ADPH expression and is developmentally linked to increased fatty acid availability attributable to the activation of lipid synthesis gene expression in the secretory epithelium and reduced lipid storage in mammary adipose tissue.
Antibodies Guinea pig polyclonal antibodies to perilipin were obtained commercially (Research Diagnostics Incorporated/Fitzgerald Industries International, Flanders, NJ). Antibodies to the N-terminal 25 amino acid sequence of murine ADPH were generated in rabbits and affinity-purified (Affinity Bioreagents, Golden, CO) or obtained commercially (Research Diagnostics/Fitzgerald Industries). Antibodies to the N-terminal 16 amino acids of murine TIP47 were generated in rabbits (Affinity Bioreagents). Rabbit antibodies to perilipin were obtained commercially (Research Diagnostics/Fitzgerald Industries). The specificities of ADPH and TIP47 antibodies were established by competition assays using specific immunizing peptides in both Western blot and immunofluorescence assays and by the absence of reaction of anti-ADPH and anti-TIP47 with purified recombinant mouse TIP47 and mouse ADPH proteins, respectively (data not shown).
Animals and tissue preparation
Protein extraction and MFG isolation Whole and skim milk were collected as described previously (39) from continuously bred primiparous and multiparous mice milked on day 10 of lactation. MFGs were isolated from fresh milk by flotation through sucrose (40). Briefly, milk was adjusted to 10% sucrose, overlaid with 2 volumes of PBS, and centrifuged at 5,000 rpm for 20 min in a clinical centrifuge at 4°C. The top MFG layer was carefully removed and the process was repeated. The tube was frozen on dry ice, and the MFG fraction was excised and stored at 80°C before assay.
Immunoblot analysis
Isolation and quantitation of mRNA
ADPH and TIP47 transcript copy numbers were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR) analysis using a multiplexing strategy to provide an internal standard for normalization (ß-2-microglobulin). Similar results were obtained if copy number values were normalized to total input RNA (data not shown). Primers, probes, and amplicons used in these experiments are listed in Table 1. PCR was carried out on 96-well plates using the following combination of reagents: a master mix including 12.5 µl of PCR mix (Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems), 2.5 µl of ADPH or TIP47 primer/probe solution, 2.5 µl of ß-2-microglobulin primer/probe solution, 0.25 µl of 100 U/µl AmpErase-UNG, 0.125 µl of 50 U/µl AmpliTaqGold polymerase, and 3.85 µl of nuclease-free water (Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems). QRT-PCR data were captured using an Opticon Monitor II real-time PCR detection system using the accompanying software version 2.02.24 (Bio-Rad Laboratories). Copy numbers of the investigated genes and the internal ß-2-microglobulin were calculated from the respective amplicon standard curves using the formula 10[(cycle time Y intercept)/(slope)]. Tissues at each time point were analyzed at least twice with similar results.
In situ hybridization Sections were deparaffinized in xylene and rehydrated in graded alcohols, postfixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and digested with 10 µg/ml proteinase K in a buffer containing 20 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA for 10 min. After a second postfixation in 4% paraformaldehyde, the sections were washed twice in PBS and 2x SSC and incubated at room temperature in Tris-Glycine buffer (100 mM Tris and 45 mM glycine, pH 7.0) for 30 min and then with hybridization buffer [50% formamide, 5x Denhardt's solution, 200 µg/ml yeast tRNA (Sigma Chemical Co.), and 100 µg/ml sonicated salmon sperm DNA] for 4 h at room temperature. After addition of the labeled probes, hybridization was performed overnight at 72°C. Posthybridization washes were carried out in 50% formamide and 1% Tween 20 in 2x SSC at 65°C followed by two washes in MABT (100 mM malic acid, 150 mM NaCl, and 1% Tween 20) for 30 min each at room temperature. Slides were then blocked in MABT containing 1% blocking reagent (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN) and 10% normal sheep serum (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc., West Grove, PA) for 1 h at room temperature and incubated in a 1:100 dilution of alkaline phosphatase-coupled sheep anti-digoxigenin antibody (Roche Applied Science) overnight at 4°C. After three 30 min washes in MABT at room temperature, the sections were equilibrated in 100 mM Tris, pH 9.5, 100 mM NaCl, and 5 mM MgCl for 5 min and then incubated with BM Purple alkaline phosphatase substrate (Roche Applied Science) for 16 h at room temperature as indicated. The reaction was stopped by briefly rinsing in PBS, and the sections were mounted in Permount and analyzed by light microscopy using a Leitz microscope equipped with a Kodak 290 digital camera. In situ hybridization analyses of mammary tissue were repeated at least twice with similar results.
Microarray analysis
Data analysis
Immunofluorescence microscopy
Image analysis and CLD quantitation
Statistical analysis
ADPH is the PAT protein on CLDs in mouse mammary epithelial cells and MFGs ADPH is a prominent surface-associated protein of CLDs in epithelial cells of bovine and mouse mammary glands (16, 17, 30) and a major protein constituent of the membrane surrounding MFGs in milk of mice and cattle (30, 35, 41). Recent studies have also suggested that TIP47 can associate with CLDs and MFGs (22, 42). To determine which PAT proteins are associated with CLDs in milk-producing mammary epithelial cells of the mouse, we compared the localizations of ADPH, TIP47, and perilipin in mammary glands of fully lactating mice. During lactation, the mammary gland is composed mainly of a system of ducts connected to terminal alveoli, which are responsible for synthesizing and secreting milk. Alveoli are composed of a single layer of secretory epithelial cells surrounding a central lumen. Figure 1A shows immunofluorescence staining of ADPH, TIP47, and perilipin in cross-sections of CD1 mouse mammary glands taken at lactation day 10 (panels ac). Corresponding differential interference contrast images of each section (Fig. 1A, panels df) are shown below the fluorescence images to illustrate the relationships between fluorescence staining and structural features of the mammary tissue. The immunofluorescence images in Fig. 1A show that ADPH, TIP47, and perilipin differ in their cellular and subcellular localization patterns. ADPH localized exclusively to CLD within secretory epithelial cells of mammary alveoli and to secreted MFGs in alveolar lumens (Fig. 1A, panel a). TIP47 was also found in secretory epithelial cells, but in contrast to ADPH, it exhibited a diffusely distributed punctate staining pattern and did not appear to be associated with CLDs or MFGs (Fig. 1A, panel b). Furthermore, we found TIP47 but not ADPH staining in mammary adipose cells (Fig. 1A, arrow). In agreement with the known localization of perilipin to lipid droplets in adipose tissue (9, 11, 13, 43, 44), perilipin staining was restricted to a few small islands of lipid-depleted adipose tissue that remain in the mammary gland during lactation. Immunoblot analysis of mouse milk fractions showed that ADPH staining was restricted to MFGs, whereas TIP47 immunoreactivity was found only in the skim (fat-depleted) milk fraction (Fig. 1B). Consistent with its adipose localization, perilipin was not detected in milk (data not shown). These results indicate that ADPH is the only PAT protein associated with cytoplasmic and secreted lipid droplets in lactating mouse mammary epithelial cells.
ADPH selectively localizes to CLDs in differentiating alveolar epithelial cells Mammary gland differentiation in mice is initiated around mid pregnancy (gestation in our colony is 1920 days) with the formation and growth of alveoli (7, 45). As described previously (7, 45, 46), in the beginning of this process the mammary gland is composed mostly of adipose cells with a few small alveoli that both lack discrete luminal regions and have no readily visible CLDs (Fig. 2A ). Around mid pregnancy, alveoli have increased in number and size; however, the mammary gland is still composed predominantly of adipose cells (Fig. 2B). Toward the end of pregnancy [postcoital day 17 (PCD17)], numerous clusters of alveoli, many of which contain numerous prominent CLDs, are present in mammary tissue (Fig. 2C). Although adipose tissue is still present at this stage, alveoli are now prominent components of the mouse mammary gland. Within 24 h after parturition and the initiation of milk secretion (PCD20), the adipose tissue component is markedly reduced and there is significant expansion of alveoli, which now have large luminal regions. At this stage, large CLDs are no longer readily visible in alveoli (Fig. 2D), but secreted MFGs can be observed in lumens at higher power (data not shown).
To better understand CLD accumulation in differentiating mammary alveoli and determine whether ADPH and/or TIP47 is involved in this process, mammary tissue sections were obtained from pregnant and lactating mice at closely spaced developmental intervals and stained for ADPH and TIP47 (Fig. 3 ). Figure 3A (panel a) shows that small ADPH-positive CLDs were detected in some alveolar epithelial cells as early as PCD7. Between PCD7 and PCD12 (Fig. 3A, panel b), ADPH-positive CLDs remained relatively small and many alveolar epithelial cells lacked these structures. In addition, there was considerable cell-cell variability in the number and size of ADPH-positive CLDs within individual cells. Beginning around PCD14, larger ADPH-positive CLDs began to accumulate in some cells (Fig. 3A, panel c). At this stage, however, there was still significant variability in CLD size and number and many cells still lacked these structures. By PCD16, nearly all cells possessed ADPH-positive CLDs, and in some cells these CLDs had diameters in the 10 µm range (Fig. 3A, panel d). By PCD18, the cytoplasm of alveolar epithelial cells appeared to be completely filled with large ADPH-positive CLDs, many of which had diameters in excess of 10 µm (Fig. 3A, panel e). Within 24 h after parturition and the onset of lactation (PCD20), numerous small ADPH-positive CLDs were observed to be enriched along the apical border of alveolar epithelial cells (Fig. 3A, panel f). These changes appeared to be related specifically to alveolar differentiation, as ADPH-positive CLDs were not detected in ductal epithelial cells during pregnancy and only small numbers of positive CLDs were detected in some ductal cells of lactating animals (Fig. 3B). In addition, the absence of ADPH immunofluorescence in nonepithelial compartments of the mammary gland (Fig. 3A, B) indicates that it is not found in mammary adipocytes from pregnant or lactating animals. Together, these results suggest that ADPH is primarily a secretory epithelium-specific protein in the mouse mammary gland.
TIP47 was also detected in differentiating alveolar epithelial cells by immunofluorescence (Fig. 3C). However, rather than being associated with CLDs, like ADPH, it had a diffuse cytoplasmic staining pattern. Moreover, TIP47 appeared to be present in all alveolar epithelial cells, even during the early stages of differentiation (Fig. 3C, panel a). In addition, there did not appear to be any enrichment of TIP47 along the apical border of these cells once lactation was initiated (Fig. 3C, panel d). These data suggest that TIP47 is not normally associated with CLDs in alveolar epithelial cells either during differentiation or in their mature milk-secreting state.
ADPH expression and CLD accumulation are developmentally linked during mammary gland differentiation
The immunofluorescence data in Fig. 3 predict that ADPH levels in differentiating mammary tissue will correlate with changes in CLD accumulation. In agreement with this prediction, immunoblot analysis demonstrated that mammary gland levels of ADPH protein increase with changes in CLD size and number during differentiation and decrease somewhat after the initiation of lactation and lipid secretion (Fig. 4B). In contrast, we found that TIP47 levels were not temporally correlated with CLD accumulation during these periods (Fig. 4B). These data suggest that CLD accumulation in alveolar epithelial cells is developmentally linked to increased ADPH expression. However, ADPH is known to be stabilized by association with triglycerides in CLDs and to undergo rapid proteasome-mediated degradation in the absence of triglyceride synthesis (47). This being the case, changes in ADPH levels could simply reflect posttranslational stabilization of ADPH by CLDs or diminished proteasomal activity. Although analysis of specific proteasomal activity is difficult in complex tissues such as the mammary gland, we previously observed that genes encoding components of the 26S proteasome complex did not change significantly during pregnancy (48). In addition, we found little change in the pattern of ubiquitinated proteins in mammary tissue extracts during this period (data not shown). Together, these results suggest that generalized decreases in proteasomal activity are not responsible for increases in ADPH protein levels during mammary gland differentiation. To determine whether ADPH transcript levels increase during mammary gland differentiation, we quantified steady-state levels of ADPH mRNA between PCD7 and PCD29 (lactation day 10) using QRT-PCR. Figure 5A shows that, like ADPH protein, steady-state levels of ADPH mRNA increased dramatically during the last half of pregnancy and reached a peak at PCD18. However, the largest increase in ADPH mRNA occurred between PCD12 and PCD14, before the detection of increases in ADPH protein or CLD number. The expression of TIP47 was also increased between PCD12 and PCD14; however, steady-state levels of TIP47 mRNA peaked at PCD17 and were >1 order of magnitude lower than those of ADPH throughout pregnancy and lactation.
Although these results are consistent with the concept that ADPH expression is increased during the differentiation of alveolar epithelial cells, this interpretation is complicated by changes in the relative proportions of epithelium and adipose tissue in the differentiating mammary gland and by observations that ADPH transcripts are expressed in mature adipocytes in culture (16, 23). To determine which cell types express ADPH transcripts, and to verify that ADPH transcript expression increases in differentiating secretory epithelial cells, sections of mammary tissue from pregnant and lactating mice were analyzed by in situ hybridization using ADPH-specific probes. Figure 5B shows that ADPH transcripts are detected selectively in alveolar epithelial cells in both differentiating and mature mammary glands. In contrast to the significant cell-cell variability observed in ADPH-positive CLDs in these cells during the initial phases of mammary gland differentiation (Fig. 3A), there appeared to be little or no cell-cell variability in ADPH transcript expression during the differentiation process. These observations confirm that ADPH expression is increased selectively in alveolar epithelial cells during mammary gland differentiation and are consistent with the concept that increased ADPH expression promotes CLD accumulation in these cells. However, differences in the temporal patterns of ADPH transcript expression and CLD accumulation suggest that other factors contribute to this process.
Lipid metabolism is altered in the differentiating mammary gland
In previously published studies, we reported changes in the expression of lipid metabolism genes in mouse mammary glands during pregnancy and in lactation from microarray analysis of FVB mice, finding that these changes were consistent with those from another laboratory in C57Bl6 mice (48, 52, 53). In limited microarray analyses on the CD1 mouse strain used for these studies, we again found comparable changes in lipid metabolism gene expression between late pregnancy and early lactation (data not shown). For this reason, we are comfortable that the results of the analysis of three genes involved in lipid synthesis, whose expression is likely limited in adipose tissue, are representative of changes in the epithelial compartment only of most if not all mouse strains. These genes are Glut1 (gene accession number M22998), the major glucose transporter in the mammary epithelium (54), and a 5 fatty acid desaturase (Fads1; gene accession number AK083959) and a fatty acid elongase (Elovl1; gene accession number AI842813) that likely contribute to the desaturation and elongation of fatty acids in the mammary gland to produce the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids characteristic of milk (53). The expression patterns of these genes are consistent (Fig. 7
). Starting after PCD7, there is a slow 2-fold increase in expression, followed by a 2- to 3-fold increase between PCD17 and PCD20 (lactation day 2). These observations suggest that there is a slow upregulation of the genes of lipid synthesis in the mammary epithelium during late pregnancy that contributes to CLD accumulation.
The stabilization of nascent CLDs by PAT proteins is thought to be an important element in their accumulation (55). Our study provides evidence that ADPH mediates CLD accumulation in differentiating secretory epithelial cells in the mouse mammary gland. The observations that both CLD accumulation and ADPH expression selectively increase in these cells during their differentiation suggest that they are specific, developmentally induced properties of the secretory epithelium. Although TIP47 can localize to CLDs (5658) and there have been reports that it is found on MFGs in human milk (22, 42), our data indicate that it is not associated with CLDs in milk-secreting cells of the mouse mammary gland and is not a component of secreted MFGs. Interestingly, our immunofluorescence results indicate that, like ADPH, TIP47 is enriched in secretory epithelial cells, which suggests that it may be important for their differentiation or function. However, observations that TIP47 levels are inversely correlated with CLD levels in these cells argue against a role for it in CLD accumulation or secretion in the normal mouse mammary gland. At present, it is unclear whether the presence of TIP47 in MFGs from human milk (22) reflects species differences in the types of PAT proteins associated with CLDs or whether other mechanisms are involved. For instance, it is known that MFGs in some species, including humans, possess significant amounts of cytoplasmic inclusions, which can contain endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fragments (7). Because TIP47 normally functions as an adaptor protein in endocytic vesicle trafficking (21), it is possible that vesicular material containing TIP47 becomes trapped during MFG formation in humans but not in mice. Interestingly, we found TIP47 in skim milk fractions, which also suggests that mechanisms exist for its transfer into milk independent of milk lipid secretion. Although it is unclear how this transfer occurs, skim milk fractions are known to contain small membrane vesicles (7), and it is possible that TIP47 is transferred into milk in association with this material. CLD accumulation in secretory epithelial cells was long ago observed to be initiated during pregnancy and associated with the differentiation of the mammary gland into a secretory organ (7, 45); however, the factors regulating this process were poorly defined. Our data show that the accumulation and growth of these structures correspond to increased ADPH expression and follow a distinct biphasic developmental pattern. In agreement with earlier histological and electron microscopy studies (7, 45), we found that only limited numbers of secretory epithelial cells possessed ADPH-positive CLDs during the initial phase of differentiation (PCD7PCD14) and that among these cells there was considerable cell-cell variability in both the number and size of CLDs. The observation that ADPH transcripts appear to be expressed uniformly in all secretory epithelial cells, even those that lack visible CLDs, suggests that differences in ADPH expression are not the cause of cell-cell variability in CLD accumulation. Importantly, the presence of ADPH mRNA in cells before the appearance of CLDs suggests that ADPH expression may be one initiating event in CLD accumulation. However, the significant lag between the increase in ADPH mRNA and the increase in CLD accumulation indicates that increased ADPH expression is not the only factor driving this process. The possibility that developmental increases in the lipid synthetic capacity of secretory epithelial cells contribute to CLD accumulation was suggested by studies showing that lipid synthetic activity increases in differentiating mouse mammary tissue in late pregnancy (59). More recently, array studies have demonstrated widespread changes in the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism at the end of pregnancy (48, 53). Furthermore, the array data presented here show an increase in epithelium-specific genes that contribute to the synthesis of milk lipid that is temporally similar to changes in CLD accumulation. Together, these data are consistent with developmentally driven increases in lipid production in differentiating secretory epithelial cells, which may contribute to CLD accumulation. In addition to alterations in secretory epithelial cell lipid metabolism, our data also indicate that diminished lipid storage in mammary adipocytes may contribute to CLD accumulation by shunting of fatty acids to secretory epithelial cells. Loss of perilipin is known to decrease triglyceride storage in adipose cells and to increase serum fatty acid levels (60, 61). Our observations that relative perilipin protein and mRNA levels decrease with a time course similar to that of CLD accumulation in differentiating secretory cells suggest that the two processes may be functionally related. Indeed, earlier studies documented that depletion of lipid in mammary adipose cells during late pregnancy and lactation is dependent on the presence of an epithelial component (49). In this context, it is interesting that steady-state levels of perilipin protein and mRNA begin to decrease at mid pregnancy, well before alveoli are significant cellular components of the mammary gland. Thus, it is unlikely that declines in perilipin expression are attributable simply to displacement of the adipose compartment by alveoli (49). At present, the factors regulating adipose lipid depletion and the reduction of perilipin expression are not well defined, but both systemic hormones and/or epithelium-derived paracrine factors are possible contributors. Collectively, our data suggest that CLD accumulation in the differentiating mouse mammary gland is a sequentially ordered process that is initiated around mid pregnancy by increased expression of ADPH, which functions to stabilize the triglyceride core in nascent CLDs. Subsequent CLD accumulation is proposed to depend on increases in intracellular fatty acid levels, which are likely to be driven by both increased de novo fatty synthesis in secretory epithelial cells and reduced lipid storage by adipose cells. In summary, previous studies of mammary gland differentiation have focused primarily on changes in genetic or biochemical markers, and little was known about the cell biological aspects of this process. Our data provide evidence that CLD accumulation and trafficking are prominent features of the differentiating mammary gland and appear to be early and specific markers of the differentiation process. We previously demonstrated that ADPH specifically colocalizes with xanthine oxidoreductase and butyrophilin at sites of CLD secretion on apical membranes of secretory epithelial cells in lactating mouse mammary glands and exists as a stable complex with these proteins on isolated MFGs (35). Together, these observations raise the possibility that ADPH functions in both the formation and secretion of CLD by mammary epithelial cells. Although recent freeze-fracture localization studies have raised questions about the exact role of ADPH in CLD secretion (42), they nevertheless demonstrate an enrichment of ADPH on the apical membrane at sites that contact CLDs, which is consistent with the possibility that ADPH contributes to interactions between CLDs and the apical plasma membrane. Whether or not this interaction is caused by a specific association with a xanthine oxidoreductase-butyrophilin complex, as hypothesized previously (6, 35), the ability of ADPH to associate with the CLD surface as well as with the plasma membrane implies that it possesses distinct binding functions (5). Previous studies have identified CLD targeting regions in the N-terminal portion of ADPH (33, 62), and it will be important to define the in vivo roles of these, as well as other, regions of the ADPH molecule in the formation and secretion of CLDs. Of interest, the crystal structure of the C-terminal region of TIP-47, which is structurally similar to that of ADPH, has been shown to be composed of a four helix bundle similar to the putative membrane binding domain of apolipoprotein E (63). Thus, it will be important to determine whether this structure contributes to interactions between CLD and membrane structures or other physiological functions of ADPH (5). As yet, there is relatively limited information on the physiological roles of ADPH, although recent data have shown that loss of ADPH is protective against the development of fatty liver (64). Our data suggest that the differentiating mammary gland is a useful model in which to study developmental mechanisms regulating CLD accumulation and secretion, and it will be interesting in future studies to determine how the loss of ADPH affects these processes.
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, RO1 HD-045962 (J.L.M.) and PO1 HD-38129 (J.L.M., M.C.N.). C.A.P. was supported by National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship HD-044359. The authors thank W. Zabaronick for excellent technical assistance. Manuscript received October 26, 2006 and in revised form March 15, 2007.
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