Failure of Oxytocin to Initiate Mammary Secretion in Rabbits or Rats.

Abstract

Oxytocin failed to initiate lactation when injected 4 times daily into 45 mature female New Zealand White rabbits 30425-30437 ENDOCRINE SYSTEM [Vol. 36] 2478 initially primed with estradiol or made pseudopregnant to develop their mammary glands. Prolactin injections initiated copious milk production in pseudopregnant rabbits. Neither oxytocin nor vasopressin inhibited mammary involution or induced secretion in estrogen-primed rats, whereas injections of prolactin alone retarded mammary involution and addition of ACTH initiated mammary secretion. It is concluded that oxytocin does not induce prolactin release in rabbits or rats.