TY - JOUR
T1 - Longitudinal analysis of bovine mammary gland development
AU - Vang, Alysia L.
AU - Bresolin, Tiago
AU - Frizzarini, Waneska S.
AU - Menezes, Guilherme L.
AU - Cunha, Thiago
AU - Rosa, Guilherme J.M.
AU - Hernandez, Laura L.
AU - Dorea, Joao R.R.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture under award numbers 2020–67015-30831 and WIS04094. Alysia Vang was supported by National Institute of Health Training grants R25GM083252 and T32GM135066.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank the staff at the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station and the Blaine Dairy Cattle Center for tirelessly caring for the heifers involved in this study. Thanks to the veterinary health care team at UW-Madison’s Research Animal Resource Center for continued support of the research and animals. Thank you also to the heifers, whom this study would not be possible without. We also thank Curtis for useful discussions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Many studies on bovine mammary glands focus on one stage of development. Often missing in those studies are repeated measures of development from the same animals. As milk production is directly affected by amount of parenchymal tissue within the udder, understanding mammary gland growth along with visualization of its structures during development is essential. Therefore, analysis of ultrasound and histology data from the same animals would result in better understanding of mammary development over time. Thus, this research aimed to describe mammary gland development using non-invasive and invasive tools to delineate growth rate of glandular tissue responsible for potential future milk production. Mammary gland ultrasound images, biopsy samples, and blood samples were collected from 36 heifer dairy calves beginning at 10 weeks of age, and evaluated at 26, 39, and 52 weeks. Parenchyma was quantified at 10 weeks of age using ultrasound imaging and histological evaluation, and average echogenicity was utilized to quantify parenchyma at later stages of development. A significant negative correlation was detected between average echogenicity of parenchyma at 10 weeks and total adipose as a percent of histological whole tissue at 52 weeks. Additionally, a negative correlation between average daily gain at 10 and 26 weeks and maximum echogenicity at 52 weeks was present. These results suggest average daily gain and mammary gland development prior to 39 weeks of age is associated with development of the mammary gland after 39 weeks. These findings could be predictors of future milk production, however this must be further explored.
AB - Many studies on bovine mammary glands focus on one stage of development. Often missing in those studies are repeated measures of development from the same animals. As milk production is directly affected by amount of parenchymal tissue within the udder, understanding mammary gland growth along with visualization of its structures during development is essential. Therefore, analysis of ultrasound and histology data from the same animals would result in better understanding of mammary development over time. Thus, this research aimed to describe mammary gland development using non-invasive and invasive tools to delineate growth rate of glandular tissue responsible for potential future milk production. Mammary gland ultrasound images, biopsy samples, and blood samples were collected from 36 heifer dairy calves beginning at 10 weeks of age, and evaluated at 26, 39, and 52 weeks. Parenchyma was quantified at 10 weeks of age using ultrasound imaging and histological evaluation, and average echogenicity was utilized to quantify parenchyma at later stages of development. A significant negative correlation was detected between average echogenicity of parenchyma at 10 weeks and total adipose as a percent of histological whole tissue at 52 weeks. Additionally, a negative correlation between average daily gain at 10 and 26 weeks and maximum echogenicity at 52 weeks was present. These results suggest average daily gain and mammary gland development prior to 39 weeks of age is associated with development of the mammary gland after 39 weeks. These findings could be predictors of future milk production, however this must be further explored.
KW - Bovine
KW - Development
KW - Holstein
KW - Mammary gland
KW - Ultrasound
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U2 - 10.1007/s10911-023-09534-0
DO - 10.1007/s10911-023-09534-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 37249685
AN - SCOPUS:85160588032
SN - 1083-3021
VL - 28
JO - Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia
JF - Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia
IS - 1
M1 - 11
ER -