Completely humanizing prolactin rescues infertility in prolactin knockout mice and leads to human prolactin expression in extrapituitary mouse tissues.

ABSTRACT: A variety of fundamental differences have evolved in the physiology of the human and rodent prolactin (PRL) systems. The PRL gene in humans and other primates contains an alternative promoter, 5.8 kbp upstream of the pituitary transcription start site, which drives expression of PRL in "extrapituitary" tissues, where PRL is believed to exert local, or paracrine, actions. Several of these extrapituitary PRL tissues serve a reproductive function (eg, mammary gland, decidua, prostate, etc), consistent with the hypothesis that local PRL production may be involved in, and required for, normal reproductive physiology in primates. Rodent research models have generated significant findings regarding the role of PRL in reproduction. Specifically, disruption (knockout) of either the PRL gene or its

SUBMITTER: Christensen HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3836079 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature