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Article has an altmetric score of 9

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Referenced in 8 patents
37 readers on Mendeley
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Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI119204

Prolactin and prolactin receptors are expressed and functioning in human prostate.

M T Nevalainen, E M Valve, P M Ingleton, M Nurmi, P M Martikainen, and P L Harkonen

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Nevalainen, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Valve, E. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Ingleton, P. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Nurmi, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Martikainen, P. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.

Find articles by Harkonen, P. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published February 15, 1997 - More info

Published in Volume 99, Issue 4 on February 15, 1997
J Clin Invest. 1997;99(4):618–627. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI119204.
© 1997 The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published February 15, 1997 - Version history
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Abstract

Prolactin is widely expressed in different tissues, and it is presumed to have both local and systemic actions. In males it is known to influence reproductive functions but the significance and mechanisms of prolactin action in male accessory reproductive tissues are poorly understood. Here we show that prolactin acts as a direct growth and differentiation factor for human prostate, as measured by changes in DNA synthesis and epithelial morphology of organ cultures. Furthermore, we report the expression in human prostate of a short prolactin receptor form in addition to the long form, based upon ligand cross-linking studies and RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression. The highest density of prolactin receptors was detected in the secretory epithelial cells by immunohistochemistry. Finally, we report that prolactin is locally produced in human prostate epithelium, as evidenced by marked prolactin immunoreactivity in a significant portion of prostate epithelial cells, with parallel expression of prolactin mRNA in human prostate. Collectively, these data provide significant support for the existence of an autocrine/paracrine loop of prolactin in the human prostate and may shed new light on the involvement of prolactin in the etiology and progression of neoplastic growth of the prostate.

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Referenced in 8 patents
37 readers on Mendeley
See more details