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Prolactin has a wide variety of effects. It stimulates the mammary glands to produce milk (): increased serum concentrations of prolactin during pregnancy cause enlargement of the mammary glands and prepare for milk production, which normally starts when levels of progesterone fall by the end of pregnancy and a suckling stimulus is present.
The hormone prolactin has a key role in lactation and breast development in the human body and it is also a functional component of homeostasis. [15] It has varying originations including the central nervous system (CNS), the immune system, mammary glands, and uterus.
Human milk immunity is the protection provided to the immune system of an infant via the biologically active components in human milk. Human milk was previously thought to only provide passive immunity primarily through Secretory IgA, but advances in technology have led to the identification of various immune-modulating components.
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A prolactin cell (also known as a lactotropic cell, epsilon acidophil, lactotrope, lactotroph, mammatroph, mammotroph) is a cell in the anterior pituitary which produces prolactin (a peptide hormone) in response to hormonal signals including dopamine (which is inhibitory), thyrotropin-releasing hormone and estrogen (especially during pregnancy), which are stimulatory.
The release of prolactin triggers the cells in the alveoli to make milk. Prolactin also transfers to the breast milk. Some research indicates that prolactin in milk is greater at times of higher milk production, and lower when breasts are fuller, and that the highest levels tend to occur between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. [7]
[9]: 18–21 [22] [23] While prolactin is the predominant hormone in milk production, progesterone, which is at high levels during pregnancy, blocks the prolactin receptors in the breast, thus inhibiting milk from "coming in" during pregnancy. [9]: 18–21 [21] [24]