Question 36 Prolactin, secreted from the anterior pituitary to cause milk secretion from the breasts is: O A paracrine secretion O A lipid-soluble hormone An autocrine secretion O An endocrine hormone O An autotrophic enzyme
Prolactin (PRL), also known as lactotrophic. It is a protein that is best known for its function in allowing milk production . In addition to feeding, mating, hormone therapy, ovulation and breastfeeding, prolactin is secreted from the pituitary gland. In between these cases, it is secreted extensively in bursts. In metabolism, immune system control and pancreatic growth, prolactin plays an important role.
Discovered by Oscar Riddle in non-human primates around 1930 and confirmed by Henry Friesen in humans in 1970, prolactin is a peptide hormone encoded by the PRL gene.
Prolactin is associated with milk production in mammals; it is believed to be linked to water and salt balance control in fish. Prolactin also functions in a cytokine-like way and as an effective immune system regulator. As a growth-, differentiating- and anti-apoptotic factor, it has major cell cycle-related functions. It affects hematopoiesis and angiogenesis as a growth factor bound to cytokine-like receptors, and is involved in the modulation of blood clotting across many pathways. Via the prolactin receptor and various cytokine receptors, the hormone functions in endocrine, autocrine and paracrine ways.
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