Effect of dioxin on hypothalamic mRNAs in maternal rats at postpartum day 7

We found that oral administration of TCDD (1 µg/kg) to pregnant rats on gestational day 15 suppressed maternal production of prolactin, a pituitary hormone essential for nursing including milk production, during the lactational stage. To comprehensively investigate genes linked to the lower prolactin expression, we performed a DNA microarray analysis in the hypothalamus, which regulates the pituitary prolactin synthesis, of lactating dam rats.