Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Departamento de Fisiología, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Oct 21;12:747810. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.747810. eCollection 2021.
Prolactin (PRL) is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland and multiple non-pituitary sites, vital in several physiological processes such as lactation, pregnancy, cell growth, and differentiation. However, PRL is nowadays known to have a strong implication in oncogenic processes, making it essential to delve into the mechanisms governing these actions. PRL and its receptor (PRLR) activate a series of effects such as survival, cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, and resistance to treatment, being highly relevant in developing certain types of cancer. Because women produce high levels of PRL, its influence in gynecological cancers is herein reviewed. It is interesting that, other than the 23 kDa PRL, whose mechanism of action is endocrine, other variants of PRL have been observed to be produced by tumoral tissue, acting in a paracrine/autocrine manner. Because many components, including PRL, surround the microenvironment, it is interesting to understand the hormone's modulation in cancer cells. This work aims to review the most important findings regarding the PRL/PRLR axis in cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers and its molecular mechanisms to support carcinogenesis.
催乳素（PRL）是由脑垂体和多个非脑垂体部位产生的激素，在哺乳、妊娠、细胞生长和分化等多种生理过程中至关重要。然而，PRL 现在被认为对致癌过程有很强的影响，因此深入研究控制这些作用的机制至关重要。PRL 和其受体（PRLR）激活一系列效应，如存活、细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭、转移和治疗抵抗，在某些类型的癌症的发展中具有高度相关性。由于女性产生高水平的 PRL，因此在此综述了 PRL 在妇科癌症中的影响。有趣的是，除了 23 kDa 的 PRL，其作用机制是内分泌的，已经观察到其他 PRL 变体由肿瘤组织产生，以旁分泌/自分泌方式发挥作用。由于包括 PRL 在内的许多成分围绕着微环境，因此了解激素在癌细胞中的调节作用很有趣。这项工作旨在综述 PRL/PRLR 轴在宫颈癌、卵巢癌和子宫内膜癌中的最重要发现及其分子机制，以支持致癌作用。
