Modulation of milk protein synthesis through alteration of the cytoskeleton in mouse mammary epithelial cells cultured on a reconstituted basement membrane

Recent studies indicate that the cytoskeleton may be involved in modulating tissue‐specific gene expression in mammalian cells. We have studied the role of the cytoskeleton in regulating milk protein synthesis and secretion by primary mouse mammary epithelial cells cultured on a reconstituted basement membrane that promotes differentiation. After 8 days in culture, cells were treated with cytochalasin D (CD) (0.5–1 μg/ml) to alter actin filaments or acrylamide (Ac) (5 mM) to alter intermediate filaments (cytokeratins). CD inhibited synthesis of most proteins in a concentration‐dependent manner, with β‐casein being the first affected. In contrast, Ac increased protein synthesis and secretion by 17–31% after a 12 hr treatment. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of total secreted proteins indicates that synthetic rates of most proteins were increased equally by Ac treatment. This increase is apparently controlled at the level of translation, because control and Ac‐treated cells contained the same amount of poly‐A+ RNA, and neither CD nor Ac altered mRNA levels for β‐casein. There was also no indication that either CD or Ac can induce the expression of milk proteins in quiescent cells cultured on a plastic substratum. In conjunction with the biochemical studies, changes in cytoskeletal morphology caused by the drug treatments were analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy. As has been observed in other cell types, low concentrations of CD caused cells to round up by disrupting actin filaments. Ac treatment slightly decreased the intensity of actin staining, but no changes in microfilament organization were observed. Ac‐treated cells showed slight disorganization of the cytokeratin filaments, with some peripheral interfibrillar bundling, but the cytokeratin network did not collapse and no retraction of cell extensions or breakdown of cell‐cell contacts was observed. These results confirm previous reports that the actin cytoskeleton may play a role in regulating tissue‐specific protein synthesis. How Ac stimulates protein synthesis is unknown, but it is unlikely that this effect is directly mediated through intermediate filaments.