{"title":"Prolactin: An Immunomodulator in Health and Disease.","authors":"Wilson Savino","doi":"10.1159/000452906","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Various lines of evidence show that prolactin (PRL) is an immunomodulator in health and disease. Cells of the immune system express PRL receptors and respond to the cognate ligand. Also, PRL itself is produced by several immune cells, indicating that in addition to its classic endocrine effects, it may also act via paracrine/autocrine pathways. PRL stimulates B and T lymphocyte proliferation, and its excess is associated with the appearance or recrudescence of various systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases, as demonstrated by experimental studies performed in mice, and by human case reports and case control studies. Very recently, dopamine agonists have been demonstrated to be efficacious in the treatment of some autoimmune disorders, placing PRL-mediated interactions as potential therapeutic targets for treating autoimmunity.</p>","PeriodicalId":50428,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Hormone Research","volume":"48 ","pages":"69-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000452906","citationCount":"28","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers of Hormone Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000452906","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2017/2/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 28
Abstract
Various lines of evidence show that prolactin (PRL) is an immunomodulator in health and disease. Cells of the immune system express PRL receptors and respond to the cognate ligand. Also, PRL itself is produced by several immune cells, indicating that in addition to its classic endocrine effects, it may also act via paracrine/autocrine pathways. PRL stimulates B and T lymphocyte proliferation, and its excess is associated with the appearance or recrudescence of various systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases, as demonstrated by experimental studies performed in mice, and by human case reports and case control studies. Very recently, dopamine agonists have been demonstrated to be efficacious in the treatment of some autoimmune disorders, placing PRL-mediated interactions as potential therapeutic targets for treating autoimmunity.
期刊介绍:
A series of integrated overviews on cutting-edge topics
New sophisticated technologies and methodological approaches in diagnostics and therapeutics have led to significant improvements in identifying and characterizing an increasing number of medical conditions, which is particularly true for all aspects of endocrine and metabolic dysfunctions. Novel insights in endocrine physiology and pathophysiology allow for new perspectives in clinical management and thus lead to the development of molecular, personalized treatments. In view of this, the active interplay between basic scientists and clinicians has become fundamental, both to provide patients with the most appropriate care and to advance future research.