Evidence for a role of the liver in the mammotrophic action of prolactin

The possibility that the liver plays a role in the growth-promoting actions of PRL on the mammary lobuloalveolar (L-A) system was investigated using 6-week-old female rats. Chronic indwelling catheters were inserted into the external jugular vein (EJV) or the hepatic portal vein (HPV) and attached to osmotic minipumps, which were used to infuse pulses of ovine (o) PRL (4/day of 2 h each, total dose = 20 micrograms/day) for 14 days. The rats were hypophysectomized 2 days after catheterization, and given daily sc injections of estradiol + progesterone in oil (2 micrograms and 5 mg/day, respectively) plus twice daily ip injections of porcine GH (50 micrograms/injection) from days 2-13. They were killed on day 14. Controls received the sc and ip hormone injections but were given solvent infusion into the EJV or the HPV instead of oPRL. Infusion of the oPRL into the EJV did not promote mammary L-A growth more than did infusion of solvent into either the EJV or the HPV. By contrast, infusion of the same dose of the hormone into the HPV caused a significant stimulation of the L-A growth. Serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels were measured by RIA in the rats given the same hormone injections with either intrahepatic infusion of solvent or oPRL, but terminated 7 days after the start of infusion. Intrahepatic delivery of oPRL was not more effective at elevating serum IGF-I concentrations than was the infusion of solvent. These results indicate that the liver may participate in the mammotrophic actions of PRL and serum IGF-I is not responsible for this effect.     

Presence of calcitonin-like peptide in rat milk: possible physiological role in regulation of neonatal prolactin secretion

Previous results have shown that salmon calcitonin (sCT), a peptide in rat brain and pituitary gland, inhibits basal and TRH-stimulated PRL release and reduces PRL mRNA levels in isolated anterior pituitary cells of adult rats in culture. Rat milk contains a variety of neuropeptides and hormones, some of which are absorbed in bioactive form to exert endocrine influences in the developing offspring. The present studies were undertaken to investigate whether a CT-like peptide is present in rat milk. Circulating PRL levels in neonatal rats are low, and there is an abrupt increase in the basal secretion of this hormone at weaning. A second objective was to examine whether CT plays a role in the regulation of PRL secretion in neonatal animals. A sensitive and specific RIA for sCT was developed and used to assay rat milk on various days of lactation for sCT-like immunoreactivity. sCT-like activity was present in the water-soluble (infranatant) fraction of milk throughout lactation in concentrations as high as 1589 pg/ml. There were no statistically significant differences in immunoreactive levels of the peptide in milk samples from different days of lactation. sCT-like immunoreactivity in rat milk infranatant coeluted with synthetic sCT on reverse phase HPLC, and these HPLC fractions inhibited basal PRL release when added to cultures of anterior pituitary cells. This inhibition of PRL release by the sCT-immunoreactive HPLC fractions was comparable to that exerted by equivalent concentrations of synthetic sCT. Newborn rats were injected sc with 10 microliters normal rabbit serum or anti-sCT serum from the day of birth until postpartum day 10. The rats were killed on day 11, and their sera were analyzed for PRL. Anti-sCT-injected rats showed a significant increase in serum PRL levels compared to those in untreated or normal serum-treated rats. These results demonstrate that a CT-like peptide, which is a potent inhibitor of PRL release, is present in rat milk throughout lactation, and that passive immunization with a highly specific anti-sCT serum leads to an increase in serum PRL levels in neonatal rats. CT, possibly of milk origin, may be a physiologically relevant PRL-inhibiting factor during the neonatal period.     

Possible role of somatostatin in the regulation of the sexually differentiated steroid metabolism and prolactin receptor in rat liver

The regulation of the sexually differentiated metabolism of 4-[4-14C]androstene-3,17-dione and the presence of PRL receptors in rat liver were studied. Electrolytic lesions in male rats placed in a restricted area in the anterior hypothalamic periventricular area caused a feminization of hepatic steroid metabolism (i.e. increased the 5 alpha-reductase and decreased the 6 beta- and 16 alpha-hydroxylase activities) and of the levels of PRL receptors (increased binding of [125I]-labeled human PRL). After periventricular lesions, histochemical analysis revealed a decrease in somatostatin-like immunoreactive cell bodies in the periventricular area. Also the number of immunoreactive somatostatin fibers in the median eminence was dramatically reduced. Somatostatin levels in the median eminence, as measured by RIA, were reduced to approximately 2-10% of control values after periventricular lesions. Large lesions in the amygdaloid complex in male rats caused a partial feminization of hepatic steroid metabolism and PRL receptors. Passive immunization during 4 days by multiple injections of an antiserum generated against somatostatin resulted in a partial feminization of the male rat liver. When somatostatin was injected into female rats, the PRL receptors were reduced to approximately 60% of the control female receptor levels. The present study indicates that the anterior periventricular hypothalamic area is important in the control of the sexually differentiated steroid metabolism and PRL receptors in the liver and that the amygdaloid complex also may have regulatory influences on this system. A possible central neuro-endocrine mediator of these sex differences in the liver could be somatostatin or a related compound.     

A possible role of cholesterol-sphingomyelin/phosphatidylcholine in nuclear matrix during rat liver regeneration

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Phospholipids and cholesterol in chromatin have been previously demonstrated. The lipid fraction changes during cell proliferation in relation to activation of enzymes of phospholipid metabolism. The aim of the present work is to clarify if chromatin lipids may derive or not from nuclear matrix and if they have different roles. METHODS: The subnuclear fractions were isolated from rat hepatocyte nuclei and the lipid fraction was extracted and analysed by chromatography in normal and regenerating liver. The phosphatidylcholine-sphingomyelin metabolism enzymes activity was assayed, by using radioactive substrates. RESULTS: In nuclear matrix, cholesterol and sphingomyelin are respectively five and three times higher than those present in chromatin; the amount of phosphatidylcholine, which it is enriched in saturated fatty acids, is lower, thus indicating a less fluid structure. The lower content in phosphatidylcholine may be justified by the phosphatidylcholine-dependent phospholipase C activity, which increases during liver regeneration, reaching a peak at the beginning of S-phase, when also cholesterol and sphingomyelin increase. CONCLUSIONS: The nuclear matrix lipids are independent from chromatin lipids; the ratio cholesterol-sphingomyelin/phosphatidylcholine is higher and, as a consequence, nuclear matrix is less fluid in relation to DNA synthesis, suggesting a specific role of nuclear matrix as a structure involved in DNA duplication.     

Characterization of the prolactin receptor in cell fractions from rat liver

[125I]Prolactin (PRL) was covalently cross-linked to its binding sites in subcellular fractions of female rat livers using NHSAB and UV irradiation. Analysis by non-reducing SDS-PAGE showed that all fractions with specifically bound radioactive hormone contained a major autoradiographic band (eliminated with unlabeled PRL) of similar electrophoretic mobility consistent with a MW of 36K for the receptor. In addition, microsomal membranes were treated with a zwitterionic detergent (CHAPS), solubilizing 30-60% of the specifically bound radioactivity. SDS-PAGE analysis of [125I]PRL cross-linked to CHAPS-soluble and CHAPS-insoluble material showed an autoradiographic band with a similar MW. These results suggest that prolactin receptors in different hepatocyte membranes are similar in MW and do not appear to be linked by disulfide bonds to other membrane proteins. Some of the binding sites appear to interact with membrane constituents in ways that affect their solubility by CHAPS.     

Effect of prolactin and prostaglandins on the stimulation of prolactin binding sites in the male rat liver

Induction of prolactin hepatic receptors in the male rat by exogenous prolactin and the possible involvement of prostaglandins in this process were studied. When ovine prolactin 500 microgram/kg was administered sc in saline containing 10% PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone), twice daily for 6.5 days and the rats killed 48 h after the last injection, the specific binding of 125I-labelled ovine prolactin to prolactin hepatic receptors was raised 26-fold, while administration of prolactin in saline only caused a 7-fold increase. A well correlated log dose-response relationship was demonstrated between 12.5 and 500 microgram of prolactin in saline-PVP, with lowest dose causing an 18-fold increase in binding. A shorter 4.5 day treatment of prolactin in saline-PVP caused only a small 3-fold increase in prolactin binding. Scatchard analysis showed that these increases resulted from increases in receptor concentration. The effect of prolactin on the induction of the hepatic receptors could not be mimicked by PGE1, PGE2 or PGF2 alpha, nor could PGF2 alpha synergize with a short treatment with prolactin. Further, indomethacin caused no significant effect on this action of prolactin. It seems that prolactin does not induce its own receptors in the rat liver by stimulation of prostaglandins in this tissue.     

Receptor-mediated mitogenic action of prolactin in a rat lymphoma cell line

PRL and other lactogenic hormones are potent mitogens in a lymphoma cell line derived from a lymph node of an estrogenized Noble (Nb) rat. The present study demonstrates that these cells (designated Nb2 node) possess receptors that bind only lactogenic hormones. There are approximately 12,000 receptor sites per cell. The kinetics of binding of [125I]iodo-PRL exhibited by Nb2 lymphoma cells is unusual in that PRL binding follows a biphasic pattern. Binding of [125I]iodo-PRL reaches a maximum in 1 h at 37 C, followed by a rapid decline. This pattern was not observed if binding was carried out in the presence of chloroquine, a lysosomotropic agent, or if cell homogenate was used for binding. We also examined the relationship between receptor occupancy and the magnitude of PRL response in these cells. Maximal growth stimulation by PRL occurs when only 35% of the maximal binding of PRL is achieved, suggesting that a majority of the PRL binding sites may be spare receptors. This study also revealed that the dissociation constant (Kd) of the PRL receptors in Nb2 cells is 75 pM, approximately 20-fold higher than that of the receptors in other cell types. PRL at 6 pM produces a half-maximal growth response in the Nb2 cells. Antibodies against the PRL receptors are able to abolish the PRL-induced proliferation of Nb2 cells. In the absence of PRL, these antibodies alone can induce proliferation of Nb2 cells, mimicking the action of PRL. Divalent (Fab)2 fragments, but not monovalent Fab, were also effective. These observations suggest that antibodies to the receptor, or the hormone itself, initiate a biological response possibly by cross-linking PRL receptors on the cell membrane, and that the entry of the PRL molecule, or fragments of it, into the intracellular compartment is not necessary for the biological action of PRL.     

Possible role of transforming growth factor-beta as a mediator of luteotropic action of prolactin in rat luteal cell cultures

PRL is known to be a hormone carrying luteotropic action in rats and enhances progesterone secretion by suppressing 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20 alpha HSD) activity in the corpus luteum. In this study, we investigated the effects of PRL and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) on the 20 alpha HSD activity of rat luteal cells in vitro and examined whether TGF beta is involved in the luteotropic action of PRL. 20 alpha HSD activity of luteal cells (from midpseudopregnant rats), which had been suppressed by PRL in vivo, increased when the cells were cultured for 48 h without PRL addition. TGF beta (0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 ng/ml) as well as PRL (2, 20, 200, and 2000 ng/ml) suppressed this increase in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the suppressive effect of PRL on 20 alpha HSD activity was significantly attenuated by anti-TGF beta antibody. Activin, having homology with TGF beta in its chemical structure, also suppressed the increase in enzyme activity, although the effect was much less marked than that of TGF beta. TGF beta or PRL did not affect total progestin (progesterone plus 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone) secretion, but induced reduction in 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone secretion during a 48-h culture period, without any alteration of DNA or protein content per culture dish. These results indicate that TGF beta, like PRL, can suppress luteal 20 alpha HSD activity without producing nonspecific cell damage, and that the luteotropic action of PRL is at least in part mediated by TGF beta or an immunoreactive TGF beta-like substance(s).     

Intracellular transformation of prolactin following internalization into rat liver

We investigated prolactin (PRL) degradation in rat liver lysosomes both in vivo and in vitro. In previous studies we showed that, in addition to the Golgi apparatus, PRL is internalized towards lysosomes and light, lysosome-like vesicles which we identified as 'prelysosomes'. Injected [125I]oPRL that localized in lysosomes and prelysosomes at times varying from 0 to 45 min showed significant differences from fresh and plasma membrane- (PM) or Golgi-bound hormone. First, it was more easily dissociable by 3 M MgCl2 than Golgi- but less than PM-bound [125I]oPRL. Second, it was only in lysosomal fractions that, as time following injection increased, a significant part of dissociable radioactivity became non-TAC-precipitable. When MgCl2-extracted [125I]oPRL was subjected to gel filtration on a Sephadex G-75 fine column, some of the radioactivity, and especially that extracted from prelysosomal or lysosomal fractions, eluted as a high molecular weight (HMW) entity, most co-migrated with fresh [125I]oPRL, and a little was found in small fragments. Only the central peak had any rebinding activity, which was comparable to that of fresh hormone. In an in vitro study we incubated [125I]hGH with lysosomal fractions for 16 h at 25 degrees C. After centrifugation, an aliquot of supernatant hormone was assayed for its binding capacity to standard receptor preparations and the rest subjected to gel filtration. Peak fractions were also tested in binding assay. [125I]hGH that had been in contact with prelysosomes lost almost all of its ability to bind to standard receptors and totally migrated in the HMW peak, at the void volume of the column.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The role of the suckling stimulus in regulating pituitary prolactin mRNA in the rat

Prolactin (PRL) gene expression and the synthesis and secretion of PRL were examined in ovarian-intact lactating rats suckling eight pups on 10 days postpartum. Plasma samples were assayed for PRL concentrations, and pituitary glands were analyzed for total PRL content and PRL mRNA levels. We found that suckling-induced hyperprolactinemia was associated with very high levels of plasma PRL and a doubling in pituitary PRL mRNA levels, whereas pituitary PRL content was not changed. Removal of the suckling pups decreased plasma PRL concentrations 15-fold within 24 h. This decrease in PRL secretion was not accompanied by any significant change in pituitary PRL content. Evidently, both synthesis and secretion of PRL were decreased in the pituitary gland within 24 h following cessation of suckling, as pituitary PRL mRNA content had returned to diestrous levels at this time. To determine whether or not ovarian steroids might have contributed to the changes in PRL synthesis and secretion during lactation and after withdrawal of the suckling stimulus, the experiments were repeated in lactating rats ovariectomized (OVX) on day 2 postpartum. The results in these OVX rats were qualitatively similar to those described in ovarian-intact rats. We concluded from these findings that the stimulus of suckling induces increases in PRL mRNA levels in the pituitary which provides for the increased PRL synthesis accompanying increased PRL secretion. The cessation of suckling led to prompt decreases in PRL synthesis and secretion within 24 h.     

The effect of chloroquine on lysosomal prolactin receptors in rat liver

PRL receptors have been previously identified in purified rat liver plasma membrane and Golgi vesicle preparations. In this study, we report on PRL receptors located in highly purified lysosome preparations. These lysosomal PRL receptors were characterized using Scatchard analysis and compared to other intracellular and cell surface receptors. We have identified two classes of lysosomes. Lighter lysosome-like vesicles, which are greatly enriched in acid phosphatase activity (the marker enzyme of lysosomes), contain a great deal of binding activity. This PRL binding was only slightly increased by pretreatment of animals with the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine. In contrast, mature lysosomes showed very little binding activity in control animals, but chloroquine treatment increased binding 7- to 8-fold in these mature lysosomes. We suggest that the lysosome-like structures are immature lysosomes (namely prelysosomes) toward which the hormone-receptor complex is internalized: they appear to bear little proteolytic activity. These structures could play a role in PRL receptor recycling. Lysosomal PRL receptors showed curvilinear Scatchard plots, in contrast to plasma membrane and Golgi counterparts, which were linear over the same range of hormone concentrations. The high affinity site in lysosomes had a Kd comparable to the cell surface and Golgi receptors. The number of binding sites per mg protein in prelysosomes and lysosomes was 3 times greater than that in the homogenate, but Golgi preparations were 3 times as rich as lysosomes. The great number of PRL receptors in prelysosomes could be attributed, in large part, to the low affinity sites. The internalization of PRL into rat liver was examined after in vivo injection of [125I]iodoovine PRL. The labeled hormone was found initially in the plasma membrane fraction, after which it localized preferentially in the Golgi fraction, with maximum incorporation 15 min postinjection. Substantial radioactivity was observed in both classes of lysosomes (L-1 and L-2). In contrast to the Golgi fraction, maximum incorporation of [125I]iodoovine PRL in lysosomes occurred at 30 min. This suggests either that during internalization, PRL first reaches Golgi elements and is then transferred to the lysosomal compartment, or that there are two independent pathways of internalization, one rapid toward the Golgi complex (may be a path of receptor recycling) and the other toward lysosomes (probably leading to receptor degradation).     

Androgen inhibition of basal and estrogen-stimulated prolactin binding in rat liver

Estradiol (E₂ 0.25 μg) administered twice a day for 7 days to rats ovariectomized 2 weeks previously caused a 4.5-fold increase in [¹²⁵I]ovine prolactin (PRL) binding to a rat liver crude plasma membrane fraction. Testosterone (T, 500 μug) injected in combination with E₂ caused a 75% reduction in PRL binding. In male rats (both intact and castrated) injected once daily with E₂-benzoate (EB, 10 μg/100 g body wt), T-propionate (TP, 100 μg/100 g body wt.) caused a 62–73% decrease in E₂-induced binding without affecting the high levels of plasma PRL induced by EB. DHT led to a significant inhibition of PRL binding at the relatively low doses of 10 and 2.5 μg/100 g body wt. in control and E₂-treated ovariectomized rats, respectively. T was slightly less effective than DHT in reducing PRL binding. DHT was also found to be effective in reducing PRL binding to rat liver in rats hypophysectomized bearing a pituitary homotransplant, the level of binding decreasing from 10.7 ± 0.8% to 7.4 ± 0.7% (P < 0.01) in animals injected twice a day for 7 days (100 μug/100 g body wt.). A single injection of DHT caused a 24% reduction (P < 0.01) in PRL binding 12 h after its injection in E₂-treated animals, the stimulatory effect of the estrogen being completely inhibited within 3–5 days of DHT treatment. These data indicate that androgens can effectively reduce prolactin binding to rat liver independently of their effect on plasma PRL.     

Measurement of growth hormone and prolactin receptor turnover in rat liver

To study the rate of disappearance of GH and PRL receptors in the livers of rats treated with cycloheximide, a technique has been devised for multiple sampling from the liver of each anesthetized rat. In rats treated with cycloheximide (1 or 5 mg/kg, iv), binding sites for both bovine GH and ovine PRL disappeared following first order kinetics over the 2-h sampling period. The half-time for the GH receptor was 30-40 min, equivalent to a rate constant of approximately 0.02 min-1. The half-time for the PRL receptor was 40-50 min, equivalent to a rate constant of approximately 0.015 min-1. At 0.1 mg/kg cycloheximide, slower disappearance rates were seen for both receptors, and the GH receptor showed a partial recovery. Over the same period, binding sites for insulin were unaltered at any cycloheximide dose. Assuming cycloheximide acts simply to inhibit new receptor synthesis, these rates represent the turnover time for GH and PRL receptors in rat liver.     

Cell signalling of the GLP-1 action in rat liver

GLP-1, incretin with insulin-independent antidiabetic properties, is insulinomimetic upon glucose metabolism in extrapancreatic tissues, acting through specific receptors not associated to adenylate cyclase activation. We investigated the role of enzymes mediating insulin actions, in the GLP-1-induced glycogen synthase a activation in rat hepatocytes. GLP-1, like insulin, activates PI3K/PKB, p70s6k, p44 and p42 MAP-kinase. Wortmannin (PI3K/PKB inhibitor) blocked the stimulatory action of insulin on glycogen synthase a and reduced that of GLP-1; rapamycin (p70s6k inhibitor) was ineffective and PD98059 (MEK/MAPK inhibitor) decreased only the insulin effect; okadaic acid (PP-2A inhibitor) was ineffective, while TNFalpha (PP-1 inhibitor) blocked the action of insulin and reduced that of GLP-1; H-7 or Ro 31-8220 (PKC inhibitors) decreased the GLP-1 effect, while only H-7 reduced that of insulin. The activation of PI3K/PKB, PKC and PP-1, but not PP-2A, seems to mediate the GLP-1 stimulatory action on glycogen synthase a in rat hepatocytes, while MAPKs and p70s6k could participate in other GLP-1 effects.