Obesity-Induced Inflammation Is Associated with Alterations in Subcellular Zinc Pools and Premature Mammary Gland Involution in Lactating Mice.

Background: Lactation failure is common in overweight and obese women; however, the precise mechanism remains unknown.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that obesity-induced inflammation in the mammary gland (MG) redistributes subcellular zinc pools to promote cell death of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) and premature involution.

Methods: Female DBA/2J mice were fed a high-fat (obese; 45% kcal from fat, n = 60) or control diet (lean; 10% kcal from fat, n = 50) for 5 wk and bred.

Zinc in specialized secretory tissues: roles in the pancreas, prostate, and mammary gland.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient required for over 300 different cellular processes, including DNA and protein synthesis, enzyme activity, and intracellular signaling. Cellular Zn homeostasis necessitates the compartmentalization of Zn into intracellular organelles, which is tightly regulated through the integration of Zn transporting mechanisms. The pancreas, prostate, and mammary gland are secretory tissues that have unusual Zn requirements and thus must tightly regulate Zn metabolism through integrating Zn import, sequestration, and export mechanisms.

Mapping the zinc-transporting system in mammary cells: molecular analysis reveals a phenotype-dependent zinc-transporting network during lactation.

The mammary epithelial cell transitions from a non-secreting to a terminally differentiated, secreting cell during lactation. Zinc (Zn) is a key modulator of phenotypic transition as it regulates over 300 biological functions including transcription, translation, energy transformation, intracellular signaling, and apoptosis. In addition, Zn must be redirected from normal cellular functions into the secretory compartment, as many components of the secretory system are Zn-dependent and an extraordinary amount of Zn is secreted (1-3 mg Zn/day) into milk.

X-ray fluorescence microscopy reveals accumulation and secretion of discrete intracellular zinc pools in the lactating mouse mammary gland.

Background: The mammary gland is responsible for the transfer of a tremendous amount of zinc ( approximately 1-3 mg zinc/day) from maternal circulation into milk during lactation to support the growth and development of the offspring. When this process is compromised, severe zinc deficiency compromises neuronal development and immune function and increases infant morbidity and/or mortality. It remains unclear as to how the lactating mammary gland dynamically integrates zinc import from maternal circulation with the enormous amount of zinc that is secreted into milk.

High performance plasmonic crystal sensor formed by soft nanoimprint lithography.

This paper describes a new type of plasmonic sensor fabricated by imprint lithography using a soft, elastomeric mold. Angle-dependent, zero-order transmission experiments demonstrate the sensing potential of this device, which uses a two dimensional plasmonic crystal. Full angle-dependent mapping shows that the sensitivity to surface chemical binding events reaches maxima near regions of the plasmonic Brillouin zone where the dispersion curves of multiple surface plasmon polariton modes converge.