OBJECTIVE Several acquired risk factors for venous thrombosis (VT) are associated with high prolactin levels. Our goal was to investigate VT risk for different levels of prolactin. METHODS AND RESULTS We used data of a case-control study on leg vein thrombosis conducted between September 1999 and August 2006 at the Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Prolactin was assessed in...

Plasma prolactin has been shown to increase during stress; the immune system is responsive to prolactin and affected by stress. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the effects of acute graded, maximal treadmill exercise on prolactin-receptor expression by lymphocytes. Eight healthy men underwent one exercise and one nonexercise session. Blood was sampled immediately before and a...

In previous studies we demonstrated the immunohistochemical expression of aromatase in pituitary cells. In order to determine whether pituitary aromatase is involved in the paracrine regulation of prolactin-producing pituitary cells and the physiological relevance of pituitary aromatase in the control of these cells, an in vivo and in vitro immunocytochemical and morphometric study of prolactin...

Since structural luteolysis involves deterioration of tissue, the gene expression of matrix-metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and the respective tissue inhibitor of this metalloprotease (TIMP-1) were measured at various times on the day of pro-oestrus and in animals in which the preovulatory prolactin surge was blocked for the duration of 3 cycles by bromocriptine. An additional group of prolactin-bl...

In the literature of the past 30 years there are only some publications concerned with hair loss and hyperprolactinemia in women. Therefore, the relevance of hyperprolactinemia was evaluated in 40 women with diffuse alopecia.Hair loss was assessed by clinical appearance and the pluck trichogram. 82.5% of the female patients had diffuse hair loss and 17.5% had androgenetic alopecia.The highest p...

The effect of prolactin on the activity of GABA-related enzymes and GABA concentrations were studied in hypothalamic slices incubated in vitro. After short periods of incubation (up to 40 min), prolactin (0.25 micrograms/ml) added to the incubation medium produced a significant increase (21% at 20 min of incubation) in glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity in the hypothalamic slices. A hig...

Elevated prolactin levels seem to be associated with impaired sexuality. The clinical significance of macroprolactinemia, associated with the predominance of high molecular mass circulating forms of prolactin, is still poorly understood. This study was aimed at investigating sexual function in young women with macroprolactinemia. The study enrolled 14 young women with macroprolactinemia, 14 wit...

An insulin response element (IRE) has been identified in the prolactin gene using chimeric plasmids in which prolactin promoter DNA directs expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. A series of 5'-deletion constructs starting between positions -173 and -106 and extending through position +75 of the prolactin gene were all stimulated greater than 10-fold by physiologica...

BACKGROUND A series of studies showed the presence of substantial amount of nerve fibers and their close relationship with the anterior pituitary gland cells. Our previous studies have suggested that aside from the classical theory of humoral regulation, the rat anterior pituitary has direct neural regulation on adrenocorticotropic hormone release. In rat anterior pituitary, typical synapses ar...

Total cytoplasmic RNA, isolated from bovine anterior pituitary glands, directed the synthesis of primarily two proteins in a wheat germ cell-free system. Analysis of wheat germ cell-free products by sodium dodecyl sulfate-slab gel electrophoresis, direct immunoprecipitation with prolactin aatibody, and prolactin- and growth hormone-specific radioimmunoassay indicated that the two proteins were ...