Temporal variation of milk fat globule diameter, fat and cholesterol content and milk epithelial cell gene expression in dairy cows

It was possible to show a connection between the temporal variation of milk fat globule diameter, fat and cholesterol content in milk and the expression of candidate genes in the mammary gland epithelial cells in milk. The beginning of lactation corresponded with higher levels of fat and cholesterol in the milk as a result of a higher expression of key enzymes in the purified bovine milk epithelial cells, paralleled with an increase in milk fat globule mean size.