title: The effect of prolactin on human aldosterone-producing adenomas in vitro.
abstract: There is evidence for an unidentified aldosterone-stimulating factor of pituitary origin. We measured the effect of ovine PRL (oPRL) on aldosterone secretion by isolated cell suspensions of human aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) and compared it to the effects of angiotensins, ACTH, and potassium (K+). In the first APA, the aldosteronotropic action of large doses of oPRL was double that of angiotensin II (AII); the response to ACTH was triple that to AII, while K+ had a small stimulatory effect. Results with the second APA showed that physiological concentrations of oPRL caused a response nearly double that to AII, but, once again, less than the response to ACTH; K+ was inert. ACTH contamination of the oPRL preparation was too minute to account for these findings. We conclude that oPRL possesses aldosterone-stimulating activity in APAs greater than that of angiotensins and potassium, but less that that of ACTH. These data suggest a role for PRL in aldosterone secretion by aldosterone-producing adenomas.
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000494:pharmacology; D000805:Angiotensin III / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology; D011388:Prolactin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000804:Angiotensin II; D000805:Angiotensin III; D000450:Aldosterone; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D011388:Prolactin; D011188:Potassium