Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Hypothalamic Lactation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of the adrenocortical hormones in mammary differentiation. It has been reported that desoxycorticosterone stimulates ductal growth in the ovariectomized, and the injections of cortisol can enhance alveolar development in intact female rats. While ovarian steroids seem to act as permissive factors in hypothalamic lactation, the role of the adrenal corticosteroids in perphenazine-induced lactation is still unknown. The absence of both ovarian and adrenocortical steroids results in the involution of the mammary tissue of the untreated rats as well as the impairment of the mammotropic effect of perphenazine. In vivo adrenocortical hormones seem to be essential for milk secretion but they are not necessary for the first stages of mammary growth. This holds true also in perphenazine-induced hypothalamic lactation—at least for the rat; other species may have different requirements.