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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.
Hyperprolactinemia, characterized by abnormally high levels of prolactin, may cause galactorrhea (production and spontaneous flow of breast milk), infertility, and menstrual disruptions in women. In men, it can lead to hypogonadism, infertility and erectile dysfunction. Prolactin is crucial for milk production during pregnancy and lactation.
Prolactin, which is produced by the lactrotrophs increases progressively throughout pregnancy. Prolactin mediates a change in the structure of the breast mammary glands from ductal to lobular-alveolar and stimulates milk production.
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]
During pregnancy, the production of prolactin by the mother increases steadily, starting at 6–8 weeks of gestation and continuing until the end of the pregnancy. [32] Prolactin levels in the human fetal circulation see a gradual increase from around 30 weeks of gestation until birth. [32] Prolactin is released into milk at amounts consistent ...
OL is the stage when plentiful production of milk is initiated following the delivery of a full-term infant. [5] [6] It is stimulated by an abrupt withdrawal of progesterone and elevation of prolactin levels after the complete expulsion of placenta. [5] [6] The other two stages of milk production are stage I lactogenesis and stage III ...
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.
Prolactin, produced in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, is the major hormone responsible for milk production. During pregnancy, the level of prolactin rises to trigger the development of mammary tissue in the breast to prepare it for milk supply. [ 17 ]