Wilkanowska Anna, Mazurowski Artur, Mroczkowski Sławomir, Kokoszyński Dariusz
Folia Biol (Krakow). 2014;62(1):1-8. doi: 10.3409/fb62_1.1.
Prolactin (PRL), secreted from the anterior pituitary, plays extensive roles in osmoregulation, corpus luteum formation, mammogenesis, lactogenesis, lactopoiesis, and production of crop milk. In birds, prolactin (PRL) is generally accepted as crucial to the onset and maintenance of broodiness. All the actions of prolactin (PRL) hormone are mediated by its receptor (PRLR), which plays an important role in the PRL signal transduction cascade. It has been well established that the PRL gene is closely associated to the onset and maintenance of broody behavior, and could be a genetic marker in breeding against broodiness in chickens. Meanwhile, the prolactin receptor (PRLR) gene is regarded as a candidate genetic marker for reproductive traits. PRLR is also an important regulator gene for cell growth and differentiation. The identified polymorphism of this gene is mainly viewed in terms of egg production traits. Due to different biological activities attributed to PRL and PRLR, they can be used as major candidate genes in molecular animal breeding programs. Characterization of PRL and PRLR genes helps to elucidate their roles in birds and provides insights into the regulatory mechanisms of PRL and PRLR expression conserved in birds and mammals.
催乳素（PRL）由垂体前叶分泌，在渗透压调节、黄体形成、乳腺生成、泌乳启动、泌乳维持以及嗉囊乳生成中发挥广泛作用。在鸟类中，催乳素（PRL）通常被认为对抱窝行为的起始和维持至关重要。催乳素（PRL）激素的所有作用均由其受体（PRLR）介导，PRLR在PRL信号转导级联反应中起重要作用。已有充分证据表明，PRL基因与抱窝行为的起始和维持密切相关，并且可能是鸡抗抱窝育种中的一个遗传标记。同时，催乳素受体（PRLR）基因被视为繁殖性状的候选遗传标记。PRLR也是细胞生长和分化的重要调节基因。该基因已确定的多态性主要从产蛋性状方面进行研究。由于PRL和PRLR具有不同的生物学活性，它们可作为分子动物育种计划中的主要候选基因。对PRL和PRLR基因的特性进行研究有助于阐明它们在鸟类中的作用，并深入了解鸟类和哺乳动物中PRL和PRLR表达的保守调控机制。
