{"title":"Sensory afferents in the mammary papilla are eliminated during the lactation","authors":"Kei Nakayama , Kotoko Suzuki , Yukiko Marunaka , Mari Kondo , Yuji Yokouchi , Naoki Takeda , Kenichi Yamamura , Hiroshi Hasegawa","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2025.138441","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Importance of breastfeeding is well recognized, since it supports the survival of mammalian infants. The mammary papilla, a specialized skin region for breastfeeding, acts as a vital interface between mother and infant: perceiving the suckling to trigger the milk ejection reflex in mother and transporting milk from mother to infants. Despite its crucial roles in breastfeeding, the histological and cellular changes in the mammary papilla during lactation remain poorly understood. In this study, we focused on the sensory afferent projection mediating somatosensory perception. Our observation revealed that the mammary papilla is innervated by non-peptidergic C-fibers, which engage in the mechanical nociception. Moreover, we found that these sensory afferents are eliminated in the mammary papilla of lactating females. These results propose the lactation-associated elimination of sensory afferents in the mammary papilla as a novel mechanism adaptive for the breastfeeding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"870 ","pages":"Article 138441"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Neuroscience Letters","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304394025003301","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/11/4 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Importance of breastfeeding is well recognized, since it supports the survival of mammalian infants. The mammary papilla, a specialized skin region for breastfeeding, acts as a vital interface between mother and infant: perceiving the suckling to trigger the milk ejection reflex in mother and transporting milk from mother to infants. Despite its crucial roles in breastfeeding, the histological and cellular changes in the mammary papilla during lactation remain poorly understood. In this study, we focused on the sensory afferent projection mediating somatosensory perception. Our observation revealed that the mammary papilla is innervated by non-peptidergic C-fibers, which engage in the mechanical nociception. Moreover, we found that these sensory afferents are eliminated in the mammary papilla of lactating females. These results propose the lactation-associated elimination of sensory afferents in the mammary papilla as a novel mechanism adaptive for the breastfeeding.
期刊介绍:
Neuroscience Letters is devoted to the rapid publication of short, high-quality papers of interest to the broad community of neuroscientists. Only papers which will make a significant addition to the literature in the field will be published. Papers in all areas of neuroscience - molecular, cellular, developmental, systems, behavioral and cognitive, as well as computational - will be considered for publication. Submission of laboratory investigations that shed light on disease mechanisms is encouraged. Special Issues, edited by Guest Editors to cover new and rapidly-moving areas, will include invited mini-reviews. Occasional mini-reviews in especially timely areas will be considered for publication, without invitation, outside of Special Issues; these un-solicited mini-reviews can be submitted without invitation but must be of very high quality. Clinical studies will also be published if they provide new information about organization or actions of the nervous system, or provide new insights into the neurobiology of disease. NSL does not publish case reports.