Search results for " Suckling"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Chemical and behavioural characterization of the rabbit mammary pheromone.
2003
Mammals owe part of their evolutionary success to the harmonious exchanges of information, energy and immunity between females and their offspring. This functional reciprocity is vital for the survival and normal development of infants, and for the inclusive fitness of parents. It is best seen in the intense exchanges taking place around the mother's offering of, and the infant's quest for, milk. All mammalian females have evolved behavioural and sensory methods of stimulating and guiding their inexperienced newborns to their mammae, whereas newborns have coevolved means to respond to them efficiently. Among these cues, maternal odours have repeatedly been shown to be involved, but the chem…
Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV)-based vectors with engineered murine tropism express the rotavirus VP7 protein and immunize mice against r…
2011
A coronavirus vector based on the genome of the porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) expressing the rotavirus VP7 protein was constructed to immunize and protect against rotavirus infections in a murine model. The tropism of this TGEV-derived vector was modified by replacing the spike S protein with the homologous protein from mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). The rotavirus gene encoding the VP7 protein was cloned into the coronavirus cDNA. BALB/c and STAT1-deficient mice were inoculated with the recombinant viral vector rTGEVS-MHV-VP7, which replicates in the intestine and spreads to other organs such as liver, spleen and lungs. TGEV-specific antibodies were detected in all the in…
Nitric oxide triggers mammary gland involution after weaning: remodelling is delayed but not impaired in mice lacking inducible nitric oxide synthase
2010
During mammary gland involution, different signals are required for apoptosis and tissue remodelling. To explore the role of NO in the involution of mammary tissue after lactation, NOS2 (inducible nitric oxide synthase)-KO (knockout) mice were used. No apparent differences were observed between NOS2-KO and WT (wild-type) animals during pregnancy and lactation. However, upon cessation of lactation, a notable delay in involution was observed, compared with WT mice. NOS2-KO mice showed increased phosphorylation of STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) 5 during weaning, concomitant with increased beta-casein mRNA levels when compared with weaned WT glands, both hallmarks of th…
Effect of the dam’s feeding regimen on the meat quality of light suckling lambs
2010
In order to verify the effect of the introduction of concentrates without GMO risk and at low aflatoxin risk in the diet of grazing milk ewes on the quanti-qualitative production of meat of their milk-fed light lambs, two trials were carried out - in Sicily, on 32 Comisana lambs, slaughtered at 49±4 days (trial 1); and in Sardinia, on 28 Sarda lambs, slaughtered at 31±4 days(trial 2) - comparing the following grazing dams’ feeding regimes: High stocking rate + Organic (barley – tickbean or pea) Concentrate (HO); High stocking rate + Conventional (maize-soybean) Concentrate (HC); Low stocking rate + Organic Concentrate (LO); Low stocking rate + Conventional Concentr…
Endocrine and ovarian response after a 2-day controlled suckling and eCG treatment in lactating rabbit does.
2006
Synchronization methods are used to obtain higher fertility when artificial insemination (AI) is applied to lactating rabbit does. The most common methods are eCG administration or temporary doe–litter separation. Nevertheless, drawbacks have been reported, such as negative side effects of hormonal treatment in the doe and low litter growth due to absence of suckling, respectively. Recently, improved reproductive performance (without visible consequences on young rabbit growth), has been obtained by applying a 2-day controlled nursing method before AI, by allowing for a 10 min nursing of the litter 24 h of separation. The present study was undertaken to examine the pituitary (PRL, LH, FSH) …
Pre-conception maternal helminth infection transfers via nursing long-lasting cellular immunity against helminths to offspring
2019
Mothers transfer immune cells via breastfeeding to provide offspring with long-term protection from parasitic infection.
Mammary olfactory signalisation in females and odor processing in neonates: ways evolved by rabbits and humans
2009
International audience; Mammalian females have long been known to release olfactory attraction in their offspring. Mammary odor cues control infant state, attention and directional responses, delay distress responses, stimulate breathing and positive oral actions, and finally can boost learning. Here, we survey female-offspring odor communication in two mammalian species - European rabbits and humans - taken as representatives of evolutionary extremes in terms of structure and dynamics of mother-infant relations, and level of neonatal autonomy. Despite these early psychobiological differences, females in both species have evolved mammary structures combining multiple sources of endogenous a…
Mammary odor cues and pheromones: mammalian infant-directed communication about maternal state, mammae, and milk
2010
International audience; Neonatal mammals are exposed to an outstandingly powerful selective pressure at birth, and any mean to alleviate their localization effort and accelerate acceptance to orally grasp a nipple and ingest milk should have had advantageous consequences over evolutionary time. Thus, it is essential for females to display a biological interface structure that is sensorily conspicuous and executively easy for their newborns. Females' strategy to increase the conspicuousness of nipples could only exploit the newborns' most advanced and conserved sensory systems, touch and olfaction, and selection has accordingly shaped tactilely and olfactorily conspicuous mammary structures.…