Influence of intrauterine low protein diet on ductal morphogenesis of the rat mammary gland.. Rattus norvegicus

Following intrauterine low protein diet, the lumbar mammary gland of control and low protein rats were removed for further analysis via genarray on day 21 and day 28 postpartum. Overall design: Virgin female Wistar rats came from Charles River. Throughout pregnancy the NP rats received 25g/d of Altromin C1000 containing 17.0% protein, while LP animals were fed 25g/d of Altromin C1003 containing 8.8% protein. At birth, litter size was reduced to 6 females in both groups, which were left to suckle for 21 days. During lactation (d1-d21) and after weaning (d21-d28) NP and LP animals were fed a standard chow and tap water ad libitum. At d21 and d28 3 dams were sacrificed under isofluran narcosis. The lumbar mammary gland (4th and 5th pair) were removed and cleared of visible lymph nodes before snap-freezing in liquid nitrogen.