Abstract
The development of the lactating mammary gland is a complex multifactorial process occurring in mammals during pregnancy. We show here that this process requires NHERF1/EBP50 (Na/H exchanger regulatory factor 1/ERM-binding phosphoprotein 50) expression and that successful lactation depends on NHERF1 allele copy number, with rates of 50 and 20% in NHERF1(+/-) and (-/-) mice, respectively. The prolactin receptor (PRLR)-STAT5 signaling provides the central axis triggering the differentiation of secretory mammary alveolar cells. In successfully lactating glands, NHERF1 is massively upregulated and forms complexes with PRLR, but also with β-catenin, E-cadherin and ezrin at the alveolar basal membrane, establishing basal polarity. In NHERF1-deficient glands, the basal polarity is disrupted, the PRLR levels and basal membrane localization are abolished, and the downstream STAT5 activation collapses with consequent reduction of milk protein synthesis. NHERF1/EBP50, a protein deregulated in breast cancer, thus emerges as an important physiological mediator of milk secretion, by engagement of PRLR in multimeric complexes at the alveolar basal membrane with subsequent network activation leading to cell differentiation.