Short communication: amino acid transporters in porcine mammary gland during lactation.

The objective of this study was to determine whether mRNA transcripts for the amino acid (AA) transporter proteins CAT-1, CAT-2B, B(0,+), and ASCT1 are present in porcine mammary tissue (MT). Transcript abundance on d 7 and 17 of lactation was determined by Northern blot analysis, and absolute quantification was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Porcine MT expresses CAT-1, CAT-2B, B(0,+), and ASCT1 during lactation. Preliminary findings indicate that B(0,+) mRNA abundance tended to decrease on d 17 compared with that on d 7.