Out today in @PNASNews we reveal how Ca2+ signals coordinate the flow of milk from secretory alveoli to the nipple during lactation doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2… A wonderful team effort by @Stevenson_alex2 @DrYassum @tenealestewart @DrNickCondon @BethLloydLewis @LabEthan @_adamewing 1/
Using volumetric #calcium imaging we show how #oxytocin (released in response to suckling) produces Ca2+ #oscillations in mammary basal cells, causing them to contract and repetitively deform the innermost layer of secretory cells (shown here in red) 2/
We show that Ca2+ release from internal stores and influx across the cell membrane are sufficient for these contractions to occur but that Ca2+ influx is necessary to sustain them 3/
Basal cells lining the ducts also respond to oxytocin in a similar manner, but due to differences in their organization, the nature of the contractile response in these structures is very different 4/
Finally, we show that the cytoplasms of adjacent alveolar basal cells (cyan) are linked, enabling Ca2+ to control the behavior of both individual cells as well as the system as a whole. The movie in the main tweet is an example of this coordinated activity 5/ 
This work is a collaborative effort between some AMAZING scientists at @UQ_News @QldBrainInst @IMBatUQ @BristolUni @SusanGKomen @NIEHS @MaterResearch. A version is freely available on bioRxiv.
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