Inhibition of Pituitary-Induced Nodular Hyperplasia in Mammary Glands of C3H Mice Fed a Phenylalanine-Deficient Diet23

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Abstract
In mice infected with mammary tumor virus (MTV), normal mammary tissues give rise to hyperplastic alveolar nodules (HAN) which, in turn, give rise to tumors. This paper reports the effect of diets deficient in phenylalanine (P) on the transformation of normal mammary tissues to HAN. Six groups of 5-week-old female virgin C3H/Crgl mice were kept for 19 weeks on semipurified diets containing P at levels (w/w) of 0.075, 0.090, 0.120, 0.135, 0.150, and 0.300%. During the first 13 weeks the mammary glands of each mouse were stimulated (to enhance noduligenesis) by a pituitary isograft implanted under the kidney capsule. Mice fed 0.120% P had a pair-weight control (PWC) fed with 0.300% P. The percent P in diet: percent of mice with HAN is as follows—0.075 to 0.090% : 0%, 0.120% : 0 to 16%, and 0.150 to 0.300% : 50 to 100%. Fifty-five percent of PWC mice showed HAN. Body weight gain increased with more P in the diet. The organ weight per body weight ratio of ovaries, but not liver, kidneys, or adrenals, was significantly lower for mice fed with 0.075–0.120% P, and their ovaries were characterized by absence of corpora lutea. Thus noduligenesis in MTV-infected C3H mice can be inhibited by diets deficient in P. Specific P deficiency, aided by partial starvation, is responsible for the inhibition which may act via a disturbed hormonal milieu as evidenced by poor mammary gland development and abnormal ovaries.

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