title: Prolactin and its 16-kDa N-terminal fragment: are higher in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension than in a healthy control group.
abstract: We sought to determine whether patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension show elevated serum levels of prolactin (PRL) and its 16-kDa N-terminal fragment (16-kDa PRL) and whether there is any correlation to measures of prognosis.Twenty-eight patients with idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension, 15 with peripheral chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, and 4 with portopulmonary hypertension Child-Pugh class A were included. Our control subjects were 56 blood donors. Total prolactin was measured with an immunoluminometric assay. Antibodies against epitope C detected only the intact prolactin before it was split. The 16-kDa PRL was calculated from the difference between total and intact prolactin.Prolactin was significantly (P=0.009) higher in the study group (median, 190 mU/L; interquartile range, 162 mU/L) than in the control group (median, 140 mU/L; interquartile range, 91 mU/L). The 16-kDa PRL was significantly elevated in the study group (P=0.046). Prolactin and 16-kDa PRL correlated inversely with the 6-minute-walk distance (P <0.01) and with peak oxygen uptake during exercise (P <0.005).Serum levels of prolactin and 16-kDa PRL were significantly higher in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension and were inversely correlated with 6-minute-walk distance and peak oxygen uptake.These results indicate that prolactin and 16-kDa PRL might play a role in the pathophysiology of precapillary pulmonary hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonology, University Hospital Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany. Uta.Hoenicke@uniklinikum-dresden.de
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hönicke
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Hagen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schrötter
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolditz
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuhlisch
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Höffken
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halank
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D065627:Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015854:Up-Regulation; D016138:Walking; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C503760:prolactin 16-kDa fragment, human; D011388:Prolactin