Kopelman P G
St Bartholomew's and the Royal School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, UK.
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Jun;24 Suppl 2:S104-8. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801291.
In many species prolactin is of biological importance and has a major role in determining the deposition and mobilization of fat. In human physiology, outside pregnancy, prolactin secretion is altered by increasing body weight in both children and adults. Prolactin in this circumstance appears to be marker of hypothalamic-pituitary function: the prolactin response to insulin-hypoglycaemia, thyrotrophin releasing hormone stimulation and other stimulatory factors may be diminished. In addition, obesity alters the 24h spontaneous release of prolactin with a generalised dampening of release. A number of explanations have been given as possible causes for these alterations, but it seems likely that they reflect obesity per se and are associated with hyperinsulinaemia. Weight reduction, with accompanying decrease in plasma insulin levels, leads to a normalization of prolactin responses in most, but not all, circumstances. To date, no molecular basis has been identified which links prolactin with increasing body fatness, weight and appetite: new data suggests a possible link in obese men between fasting plasma prolactin and leptin concentrations.
在许多物种中，催乳素具有生物学重要性，在决定脂肪的沉积和动员方面发挥着主要作用。在人类生理学中，在非妊娠状态下，儿童和成年人的催乳素分泌都会因体重增加而发生改变。在这种情况下，催乳素似乎是下丘脑 - 垂体功能的一个标志物：催乳素对胰岛素低血糖、促甲状腺激素释放激素刺激和其他刺激因素的反应可能会减弱。此外，肥胖会改变催乳素的24小时自发释放，使其释放普遍受到抑制。对于这些改变，人们给出了一些可能的原因解释，但似乎它们反映的是肥胖本身，并且与高胰岛素血症有关。体重减轻以及随之而来的血浆胰岛素水平下降，在大多数但并非所有情况下，都会使催乳素反应恢复正常。迄今为止，尚未确定将催乳素与体脂增加、体重和食欲联系起来的分子基础：新数据表明，在肥胖男性中，空腹血浆催乳素和瘦素浓度之间可能存在联系。
