This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LARREA, F. Articles by DIAZ-SANCHEZ, V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by LARREA, F. Articles by DIAZ-SANCHEZ, V.

Heterogeneity of Serum Prolactin Throughout the Menstrual Cycle and Pregnancy in Hyperprolactinemic Women with Normal Ovarian Function^*

FERNANDO LARREA, ARCELIA ESCORZA, ALBERTO VALERO, LYDIA HERNANDEZ, M. CARMEN CRAVIOTO and VICENTE DIAZ-SANCHEZ

Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubiran Mexico City, Mexico

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Fernando Larrea, Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute Nacional de la Nutricion SZ, Vasco de Quiroga No. 15, Mexico City 14000, Mexico D.F.

We have demonstrated the selective secretion of high mol wt PRL series (big big PRL) in women with hyperprolactinemia and normal ovarian function. This observation suggests that big big PRL is immunologically similar, but biologically less active, than monomeric or little PRL. In this study we determined the molecular size heterogeneity of immunoreactive PRL in the serum from two ovulatory hyperprolactinemic women (subjects A and B) who had large amounts of serum big big PRL during a menstrual cycle and/or gestation. Serum samples obtained throughout the menstrual cycle (days 6, 10, 14, 17, 23, and 28, taking as day 1 the first day of bleeding) and pregnancy (weeks 7, 9, 11, 15, 20, 25, 30, 34, and 38) were fractionated by gel filtration chromatography. PRL was identified in column eluates by specific RIA. Two additional pregnant women, one with a bromocriptine-treated PRL-secreting adenoma (subject C), and a normal woman (subject D) were studied. Big big PRL was the predominant species throughout the different phases of the menstrual cycle in subject B, comprising 70–80% of the total immunoreactive PRL. Most of the remainder was big PRL, and little PRL was present in only small amounts (6–12%) during the luteal phase. During their pregnancies, the serum PRL in subjects A and B initially was mostly big big PRL, but later in gestation the PRL composition shifted from the high mol wt variants to little PRL. The infant’s cord (subject A) and peripheral (subject B) serum at birth contained appreciable quantities of big big and big PRL, respectively. These results indicate that structural changes in PRL occur during pregnancy and the menstrual cycle which are probably influenced by the hormonal environment. In addition, the occurrence of larger mol wt PRL species in the serum of the infant of a hyperprolactinemic mother suggests that the presence of high proportions of big big PRL in the serum is genetically determined.

^* This work was supported in part by grants from the Population Council (New York, NY), the National Council of Sciences and Technology (Mexico City, Mexico), and the WHO Special Program of Research Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (Geneva, Switzerland).

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Reproductive Biology supported by a WHO research training grant.

Received September 19, 1988.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Mounier, J. Trouillas, B. Claustrat, R. Duthel, and B. Estour Macroprolactinaemia associated with prolactin adenoma Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2003; 18(4): 853 - 857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. DeSantiago, L. Alonso, A. Halhali, F. Larrea, F. Isoard, and H. Bourges Negative calcium balance during lactation in rural Mexican women Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 2002; 76(4): 845 - 851. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Vallette-Kasic, I. Morange-Ramos, A. Selim, G. Gunz, S. Morange, A. Enjalbert, P.-M. Martin, P. Jaquet, and T. Brue Macroprolactinemia Revisited: A Study on 106 Patients J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., February 1, 2002; 87(2): 581 - 588. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Leanos-Miranda, D. Pascoe-Lira, K. A. Chavez-Rueda, and F. Blanco-Favela Persistence of Macroprolactinemia Due to Antiprolactin Autoantibody before, during, and after Pregnancy in a Woman with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2001; 86(6): 2619 - 2624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Campino, C. Torres, S. Ampuero, S. Diaz, G.B. Gonzalez, and M. Seron-Ferre Bioactivity of prolactin isoforms: lactation and recovery of menses in nursing women Hum. Reprod., April 1, 1999; 14(4): 898 - 905. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]