Effect of Prolactin on the Adipose Tissue – Possible Clinical Implications

Abstract

Obesity, only recently recognized as a health problem for the general population, demands a preventive, as well as a therapeutic approach. It is also an active risk factor for disease and disability, its complications cost enormously, and in some countries, its prevalence reached epidemic proportions. During pregnancy and breast-feeding, high levels of prolactin are recognized to influence sugar and lipid metabolism. New information about its involvement in the metabolic status outside pregnancy sustains its reevaluation as a metabolic hormone. In the white adipose tissue, prolactin inhibits lipogenesis and adipokines release, while at the pancreatic level it promotes insulin secretion. It seems that it might be implicated in promoting insulin-resistance, and thus being directly involved in the appearance of the metabolic syndrome.