prolactin
Sign in to saveProlactin (PRL), also known as lactotropin and mammotropin, is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various vertebrates, including humans. Prolactin is secreted from the pituitary gland and plays an essential role in metabolism, regulation of the immune system and pancreatic development.
AI overview
Prolactin is a protein made by your pituitary gland that is best known for helping mammals produce milk, but it also influences over 300 different processes throughout the body. Beyond milk production, prolactin plays important roles in metabolism, immune system regulation, and pancreatic development.
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Article
19 sectionsContents
- Function
- In humans
- In other vertebrates
- Regulation
- Pituitary
- Extrapituitary
- Structure and isoforms
- Prolactin receptor
- Diagnostic use
- Units and unit conversions
- Reference ranges
- Inter-method variability
- Conditions
- Elevated levels
- Decreased levels
- In medicine
- See also
- References
- External links
Prolactin (PRL), also known as lactotropin and mammotropin, is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various vertebrates, including humans. Prolactin is secreted from the pituitary gland and plays an essential role in metabolism, regulation of the immune system and pancreatic development.
Discovered in non-human animals around 1930 by Oscar Riddle and confirmed in humans in 1970 by Henry Friesen, prolactin is a peptide hormone, encoded by the PRL gene.