6-Dimethyl amino purine and 2-amino purine inhibit the induction of expression of milk protein genes by prolactin

Involvement of a subset of tyrosine kinases and phosphatases in regulation of the beta-lactoglobulin gene promoter by prolactin

This study used pharmacological intervention to provide support for a role of kinases and phosphatases in prolactin transactivation of a milk protein gene. It was based on transient cotransfection using a rabbit prolactin receptor expression plasmid and a beta-lactoglobulin promoter/CAT reporter construct. In cotransfected CHO cells, herbimycin A and tyrphostin, two tyrosine kinase inhibitors, were able to decrease the CAT response by over 50%, along with tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins, whereas genistein and lavendustine were without effect on lactoglobulin transactivation. Orthovanadate, an inactivator of tyrosine phosphatases, was able to substitute for prolactin in inducing the CAT response. Staurosporine, a non-specific kinase inhibitor, was able, when used at low concentrations (10 nM), to augment the prolactin response strikingly. Threonine/serine kinases do not appear to be involved early in beta-lactoglobulin promoter transactivation, since four C-kinase inhibitors and okadaic acid a threonine/serine phosphatase inhibitor, were without substantive effect. We conclude that specific tyrosine kinases are responsible for most of the signal transduction from the prolactin receptor to the beta-lactoglobulin gene promoter.

Effect of various protein kinase inhibitors on the induction of milk protein gene expression by prolactin

Prolactin has many known functions and one of them is to induce the expression of milk protein gene expression in the mammary gland. Specific membrane receptors have been recently characterized but the transduction mechanism involved in the transfer of the prolactin signal to milk protein genes remains unknown. In the present work, it is shown that several protein kinase inhibitors block prolactin action on milk protein genes. Primary rabbit mammary cells were cultured for several days on floating collagen gel in a serum-free medium. Prolactin and the inhibitors of protein kinase were then added to the culture medium. After 1 day, the concentration of alpha s1-casein in the culture medium was measured using a specific radioimmunoassay. The concentration of several mRNAs in cell extracts was also evaluated using Northern blot analysis. alpha s1-Casein secretion and alpha s1-casein mRNA accumulation were induced by prolactin. This induction was blocked by staurosporine, sphingosine, quercetin, genistein and to some extent by o-hydroxyphenyl acetate, but not by H7, polymyxin B, benzylsuccinate and lavendustin A. The concentration of the mRNA coding for transferrin, which is abundantly secreted in rabbit milk independently of prolactin action, was only moderately altered by the inhibitors. The concentration of two house-keeping mRNAs, beta-actin and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, was lowered only by genistein after 1 day but not after 4 h of culture. These data show for the first time that a Ser/Thre kinase, which is not kinase C, and possibly a tyrosine kinase is involved in the transduction of the prolactin message from the receptor to the milk protein genes.