Journal
ENDOCRINE REVIEWS
Volume 29, Issue 1, Pages 1-41Publisher
ENDOCRINE SOC
DOI: 10.1210/er.2007-0017
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Funding
- Intramural NIH HHS [Z01 BC005725] Funding Source: Medline
- NCI NIH HHS [T32-CA 117846, T32 CA117846, CA096613, R01 CA096613] Funding Source: Medline
- NIEHS NIH HHS [T32-ES 007250, R01 ES012212, T32 ES007250, ES012212] Funding Source: Medline
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Prolactin (PRL) is a 23-kDa protein hormone that binds to a single-span membrane receptor, a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily, and exerts its action via several interacting signaling pathways. PRL is a multifunctional hormone that affects multiple reproductive and metabolic functions and is also involved in tumorigenicity. In addition to being a classical pituitary hormone, PRL in humans is produced by many tissues throughout the body where it acts as a cytokine. The objective of this review is to compare and contrast multiple aspects of PRL, from structure to regulation, and from physiology to pathology in rats, mice, and humans. At each juncture, questions are raised whether, or to what extent, data from rodents are relevant to PRL homeostasis in humans. Most current knowledge on PRL has been obtained from studies with rats and, more recently, from the use of transgenic mice. Although this information is indispensable for understanding PRL in human health and disease, there is sufficient disparity in the control of the production, distribution, and physiological functions of PRL among these species to warrant careful and judicial extrapolation to humans.
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