Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 8, No. 4, 356-362,
April 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Uterine physiology |
Expression of prolactin-releasing peptide and its receptor in the human decidua*
1 Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 2 Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy, 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte and 5 Gynecological Endocrinology Unit and Department of Physiology, University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Human decidua and decidualized endometrial cells produce prolactin (PRL). Several growth factors and cytokines have been shown to regulate decidual PRL release, but a specific PRL-releasing substance remains to be characterized. Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) is a peptide isolated from the brain and distinguished by its potent and specific stimulation of PRL release by cultured pituitary cells. Here, we demonstrate that human decidua expresses immunoreactive PrRP as well as the mRNAs encoding PrRP and its receptor. First trimester deciduas were obtained from women undergoing elective termination of pregnancy. Tissue specimens were stained by immunohistochemistry using a rabbit anti-human PrRP-31 antibody, and PrRP was localized in both epithelial cells of the decidual glands and in stromal cells, with diffuse distribution and no special relation with the neighbourhood of blood vessels. In primary cultures of decidual stromal cells, PrRP and PrRP receptor gene expression were detected using RT–PCR, and the identity of the PCR products was further confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion. The effect of PrRP on decidual PRL release was also evaluated, and there was a significant increase in PRL production (135 ± 4% of control levels, P < 0.05) after incubation of decidual stromal cells with synthetic PrRP. The expression of PrRP and PrRP receptor in human decidual cells and the ability of PrRP to induce PRL secretion by cultured decidual cells suggests that this peptide may be a novel local modulator of decidual PRL release.
decidua/mRNA/pregnancy/prolactin-releasing peptide
6 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Viale Montenero, 32, 20135 Milan, Italy. E-mail: biomol{at}auxologico.it
* Part of this paper was presented at the 53th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Orlando, USA, 20–25 October 2001, and received a Finalist award from the Poster Prize Committee.
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