title: Principles of the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis.
abstract: The hormonal family of vasoinhibins, which derive from the anterior pituitary hormone prolactin, are known for their inhibiting effects on blood vessel growth, vasopermeability, and vasodilation. As pleiotropic hormones, vasoinhibins act in multiple target organs and tissues. The generation, secretion, and regulation of vasoinhibins are embedded into the organizational principle of an axis, which integrates the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the target tissue microenvironment. This axis is designated as the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis. Disturbances of the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis are associated with the pathogenesis of retinal and cardiac diseases and with diseases occurring during pregnancy. New phylogenetical, physiological, and clinical implications are discussed.
authors: Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Medicine and Transfusion Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, Germany; Jakob.Triebel@gmx.de.
authors: Jakob
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1989-8645
authors: J
authors: Triebel
authors: Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Medicine and Transfusion Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, Germany;
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Bertsch
authors: Institute for Biomedicine of Aging, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany;
authors: Cornelius
authors: C
authors: Bollheimer
authors: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology Unit, Directors' Research, Heidelberg, Germany;
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Rios-Barrera
authors: Southern Colorado Maternal Fetal Medicine, St. Francis Medical Campus, Centura Health, Colorado Springs, Colorado;
authors: Christy F
authors: CF
authors: Pearce
authors: Endokrinologikum Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; and.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Hüfner
authors: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Campus UNAM-Juriquilla, Querétaro, México.
authors: Gonzalo
authors: G
authors: Martínez de la Escalera
authors: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Campus UNAM-Juriquilla, Querétaro, México.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Clapp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D011388:Prolactin
keywords: 16K prolactin; prolactin; prolactin-fragments; prolactin/vasoinhibin axis; vasoinhibins