Respiration of epithelial component of mammary gland slices

Abstract

The respiration of slices from rat mammary gland was accounted for by the independent contributions of each of the three major components of mammary tissue: adipose, epithelial and connective. The contribution of each component was the amount of the component times its characteristic qo₂. In the virgin mammary gland the adipose and connective tissue components accounted for the bulk of the observed respiration; but the qo₂ increased directly and linearly with epithelial proliferation induced by various means—pregnancy, lactation, or administration of progesterone or estradiol-17ß. An equation containing only biological parameters and relating qo₂ to hydroxyproline content of mammary gland was derived. A qo₂ value of 14.2 ± 1.8 for the mammary epithelial cell component was obtained.