Bovine growth hormone and milk fat synthesis : from the body to the molecule - Review - |
W. Y. Kim, J. K. Ha, In K. Han, R. L. Baldwin |
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Abstract |
Injection of bovine growth hormone (bGH) to lactating dairy cows increases milk yield and yields of milk components including fat. It is generally believed that most of the primarily mediated by IGF-1. IGF-1 is a strong anabolic peptide in the plasma of animals and exerts mitogenic and metabolic effects on target cells. Contrary to most protein hormones, the majority of IGF-1 in circulation is bound to the binding proteins (IGFBPs) which are known to be responsible for modifying the biological actions of IGF-1, thus making determinations of IGF-1 actions more difficult. On the other hand, fat is a major milk component and the greatest energy source in milk. Currently, the fat content of milk is one of the major criteria used in determining milk prices. It has been known that flavor and texture of dairy products are mainly affected by milk fat and its composition. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) is the rate limiting enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA for fatty acid synthesis in lipogenic tissues of animals including bovine lactating mammary glands. In addition to the short-term hormonal regulation of ACC by changes in the catalytic efficiency per enzyme molecule brought about by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the enzyme, the long-term hormonal regulation of ACC by changes in the number of enzyme molecules plays an essential role in control of ACC and lipogenesis. Insulin, at supraphysiological concentrations, binds to IGF-1 receptors, thereby mimicking the biological effects of IGF-1. The receptors for insulin and IGF-1 share structural and functional homology. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor increased ACC activity in rat hepatocytes and adipocytes. Therefore, it can be assumed that IGF-1 mediating bGH action may increase milk fat production by stimulation ACC with phosphorylation (short term) and/or increasing amounts of the enzyme proteins (long term). Consequently, the main purpose of this paper is to give the readers not only the galactopoietic effects of bGH, but also the insight of bGH action with regard to stimulating milk fat synthesis from the whole body to the molecular levels. |
Keywords:
Bovine Growth Hormone; Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1; Milk Fat Synthesis; Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase |
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