Protein kinase C activation and calcium mobilization decrease prolactin release from human decidual cells in early pregnancy.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of protein kinase C (PKC) activation and calcium mobilization on the release of prolactin from human decidual cells in early pregnancy. Decidua obtained from patients in early pregnancy was enzymatically dispersed and cultured with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and calcium ionophore A23187 in a cell culture system. Prolactin in the medium was measured by enzyme-immunoassay. PMA, a PKC activator, dose-dependently attenuated the release of prolactin from cultured decidual cells, while a PKC inhibitor, H7, significantly (P < 0.001) diminished the effect of PMA on prolactin release. PMA had no effect on cell numbers or DNA synthesis in the decidual cells during culture. It did not significantly increase the generation of inositol phosphate in decidual cells prelabelled with myo-[3H]inositol and it had no effect on intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). Calcium ionophore A23187, a Ca(2+)-mobilizing agent, also significantly (P < 0.001) attenuated the release of prolactin and potentiated the PMA-induced suppression of prolactin release from decidual cells. These findings suggest that activation of PKC and mobilization of Ca2+ may be involved in regulating prolactin release from human decidual cells. The PMA-induced suppression of prolactin release is not triggered by phosphoinositide hydrolysis nor by the increase in [Ca2+]i in decidual cells.