Neurochemical Correlates of Prolactin Secretion

Badura 9603780 催乳素是一种由垂体前叶分泌的蛋白质激素，参与调节哺乳动物的多种生理和行为状态，包括泌乳、发情周期、母性行为和免疫系统功能。 虽然催乳素明显参与许多不同的生理过程，但在各种条件下控制催乳素分泌的确切作用机制和方式尚不清楚。 主要的方法是研究各种因素如何影响压力、泌乳或发情周期中催乳素的激增。 问题是催乳素的激增涉及多个系统的激活，因此，这种方法的结果可能非常难以解释。 Badura博士试图通过检查全年波动的基础催乳素水平的变化来提高我们对个体调节系统对催乳素反应的作用的理解。 她利用了这样一个事实，即催乳素显示出明显的年度波动，这与光周期的变化相对应，最有可能是日照长度。 事实上，巴杜拉博士已经证明，非刺激性日照长度会引起循环催乳素的自然下降。 使用这个模型，她将描述下丘脑室旁核内的神经递质，下丘脑是调节垂体功能的主要神经内分泌脑区。 使用体内微透析和HPLC-EC技术，Badura博士将神经递质的释放和代谢与在不同光周期条件下基础催乳素释放中观察到的变化相关联。 她还将使用这个模型和协议来解开性腺类固醇激素对男性和女性这一系统的一些潜在影响。 此外，Badura博士将研究这些调节因素如何在不同的环境条件下直接影响垂体功能。 这些研究的结果将为我们理解神经内分泌过程提供新的知识。 剖析催乳素调节明显不相关的生理系统的机制，将提高我们对具有多个靶点和功能的激素系统进化的适应性意义的理解。

Badura 9603780 Prolactin, a protein hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland, is involved in modulating a large variety of physiological and behavioral states in mammals, including lactation, estrous cyclicity, maternal behavior, and immune system function. While prolactin is clearly involved in many different physiological processes, the precise mechanism of action and the ways in which prolactin secretion is controlled under various conditions is not well understood. The primary approach has been to examine how various factors affect the surges of prolactin that occur during stress, lactation, or during the estrous cycle. The problem is that surges of prolactin involve the activation of multiple systems and, therefore, the results from this approach can be very difficult to interpret. Dr. Badura seeks to enhance our understanding of the role of individual modulatory systems to the prolactin response by examining changes in basal prolactin levels that fluctuate throughout the year. She is taking advantage of the fact that prolactin shows a marked annual fluctuation that corresponds with changes in photoperiod, most likely daylength. Indeed Dr. Badura has demonstrated that nonstimulatory daylengths will induce naturally occurring declines in circulating prolactin. Using this model, she will characterize the neurotransmitters within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, a major neuroendocrine brain region that regulates pituitary function. Using in vivo microdialysis and HPLC-EC techniques, Dr. Badura will correlate the release and metabolism of neurotransmitters with alterations that are seen in basal prolactin release under different photoperiod conditions. She will also use this model and protocol to untangle some of the potential effects of gonadal steroid hormones on this system in both males and females. In addition, Dr. Badura will examine how these regulatory factors influence pituitary function directly under different environmental conditions. The results from these studies will provide new knowledge in our understanding of neuroendocrine processes. Dissecting the mechanisms by which prolactin regulates apparently unrelated physiological systems will enhance our understanding of the adaptive significance of evolving hormonal systems that possess multiple targets and function.