Pulsatile prolactin secretory patterns throughout the oestrous cycle in the rat.
Prolactin secretion throughout the oestrous cycle in the rat remains at a low level and fairly constant, with the exception of the surge at pro-oestrus. The present study was designed to characterize possible changes in pulsatile patterns of prolactin during the oestrous cycle of the adult female rat. Mean values of prolactin increased from dioestrus-2 to pro-oestrus and then decreased to the values found at dioestrus-1. The number of peaks remained fairly constant in any phase of the oestrous cycle. The absolute amplitude of the peaks increased numerically but was not statistically significant from dioestrus-2 to pro-oestrus then decreasing until dioestrus-1. No changes in the relative amplitude or duration of the peaks throughout the oestrous cycle were detected. The results indicated that there is a similar pulsatile pattern of prolactin at any stage of the oestrous cycle, when samples were obtained during the morning.
Department of Physiology, School of Biology, Santiago de Compostela University, Spain.
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D000818:Animals; D004971:Estrus / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology
D011388:Prolactin