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New Finding Could Help Improve Milk Yields in Cows
10/10/2007
Serotonin inhibits milk production and secretion in the human mammary gland, according to a study led by Nelson Horseman, PhD, UC professor of molecular and cellular physiology. As demand outstrips milk supplies in some parts of the world, this new finding could aid development of therapeutics or technologies that would increase milk yield in cows.
 In a paper appearing today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA [view publication], Horseman's team report that serotoninÑa neurotransmitter more commonly known for its association with depressionÑis also produced in the human mammary gland and inhibits milk synthesis and secretion as the gland reaches capacity.
In lactating mammals, milk synthesis and secretion gradually slows to a stop when mammary glands become full. Once mammary glands are emptied, milk production begins again.
Improved milk yields, says Horseman, could help ease milk shortages in some parts of the world caused by drought and increased demand. "If we can understand how to stop or reduce serotonin production in the mammary gland, we can reverse its actions," Horseman says.
"Farmers currently use a growth hormone to improve milk yields," says Horseman. "Use of that hormone has declined in recent years at the request of consumers, but milk shortages are getting worse. Finding ways to increase yield in a way thatÕs acceptable to consumers is important."
Still, some species differences have to be worked out and, in March 2007, the USDA awarded Horseman and colleagues a $350,000 grant to study milk synthesis and secretion in cows.
"We hope that by gaining a better understanding of how serotonin works in cows, we can find ways to inhibit its synthesis without the use of drugs or growth hormones," says Horseman. "Our ultimate goal would be to increase milk yield in a way thatÕs effective without side effects."
The PNAS study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of the Army. Coauthors include George Jacob, Aaron Marshall, Malinda Stull and Vaibhav Pai. Stull is now with Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky.
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