Stimulatory effect of prolactin on human placental progesterone secretion at term in vitro: possible inhibitory effect on oestradiol secretion |
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| Authors: | E R Barnea F Fares K Shahar |
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| Affiliation: | Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa. |
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| Abstract: | Maternal and fetal circulating prolactin (PRL) increases 10-fold compared with the non-pregnant state. We examined the effect of PRL upon placental steroidogenesis. It had a significant (P less than 0.05) time-dependent stimulatory effect upon placental explants/P4 accumulation and secretion into the medium. The maximal stimulatory effect (two-fold) in dose-dependent experiments was found to be 200 ng/ml. The effect of PRL upon oestradiol secretion was mainly inhibitory. This inhibition was most pronounced at 200 ng/ml. In conclusion, placental steroid secretion is modulated by PRL. This effect occurs mainly at concentrations seen in the placenta at term, suggestive of its physiologic role. |
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