title: Prolactin: An Immunomodulator in Health and Disease.
abstract: Various lines of evidence show that prolactin (PRL) is an immunomodulator in health and disease. Cells of the immune system express PRL receptors and respond to the cognate ligand. Also, PRL itself is produced by several immune cells, indicating that in addition to its classic endocrine effects, it may also act via paracrine/autocrine pathways. PRL stimulates B and T lymphocyte proliferation, and its excess is associated with the appearance or recrudescence of various systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases, as demonstrated by experimental studies performed in mice, and by human case reports and case control studies. Very recently, dopamine agonists have been demonstrated to be efficacious in the treatment of some autoimmune disorders, placing PRL-mediated interactions as potential therapeutic targets for treating autoimmunity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory on Thymus Research, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Program on Neuroscience, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, National Institute of Science and Technology on Neuroimmunomodulation (INCT-NIM), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wilson
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Savino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000502:physiology*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011388:Prolactin