Regulation of Tight Junctions by Sex Hormones in Goat Mammary Epithelial Cells

Abstract

The sex hormones of estrogen and progesterone (P4) play a vital role in mammary gland development and milk lactation in ruminants. The tight junction (TJ) between adjacent secretory epithelial cells is instrumental in establishing the mammary blood–milk barrier. However, whether estrogen and P4 exert their effect on mammary function via regulating TJ remain unclear. Here, to clarify the role of 17-β estradiol (E2) and P4 in the regulation of TJ in goat mammary gland, we first explored the relationships between the concentrations of E2, P4, and the protein expression of claudin-1, claudin-3, occludin, and ZO-1 during the mammary gland development in goat. Then, we further explored the mRNA and protein expression of claudin-1, claudin-3, occludin, and ZO-1 in the goat mammary epithelial cells (GMECs) in vitro under different concentrations of E2 and P4. The results demonstrated that the protein expression of claudin-1 decreased, but occludin and ZO-1 increased with the decline in E2 and P4 during the transition from pregnancy to lactation. In the in vitro studies, E2 exerted a positive effect on the mRNA expression of claudin-1, and accelerated the proteins’ expression of claudin-1 and ZO-1 in GMECs; P4 upregulated the mRNA expression of claudin-1, claudin-3, occludin, and ZO-1, and also improved the protein expression of claudin-1, claudin-3, and ZO-1 in the GMECs. The results demonstrated that E2 and P4 play an important role in regulating the expression of the mammary TJ components, which may ultimately affect the mammary gland development and milk lactation.