Prolactin
Prolactin is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland, named because of its role in lactation. Prolactin is a hormone named originally after its function to promote milk production (lactation) in mammals in response to the suckling of young after birth. Synthesis PRL consists of 198 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 21,500 kDa; it is weakly homologous to GH and human placental lactogen (hPL), reflecting the duplication and divergence of a common GH-PRL-hPL precursor gene on chromosome 6. PRL is synthesized in lactotropes, which constitute about 20% of anterior pituitary cells. Lactotropes and somatotropes are derived from a common precursor cell that may give rise to a tumor secreting both PRL and GH. Marked lactotrope cell hyperplasia develops during the last two trimesters of pregnancy and the first few months of lactation. These transient functional changes in the lactotrope population are induced by estrogen. Secretion Normal adult serum PRL levels ...