| Prolactin may assist breast growth and milk formation in association with other pregnancy-related hormones
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Prolactin is a 23 kDa protein, which is homologous to GH. The primary role for prolactin in humans occurs during pregnancy when prolactin binds to its receptor in mammary tissue and stimulates the synthesis of several milk proteins, including lactalbumin (see Chapter 25). In other animals, prolactin also has gonadotropic, immunological, and hematological effects: it is required for maintenance of pregnancy in rodents, is mitogenic for some immune cells, and it ameliorates some forms of anemia. Prolactin exerts its effects on female reproductive function by blocking the action of FSH on follicular estrogen secretion and by enhancing progesterone levels by inhibiting steroid-metabolizing enzymes.
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