Expression of Prolactin and Its Receptor in the Baboon Uterus during the Menstrual Cycle and Pregnancy 1 (original) (raw)

PRL is known to be a major secretory product of the human decidua. However, the physiological role of decidual PRL during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy has not been fully defined, primarily due to the lack of an appropriate nonhuman primate model for in vivo studies. Therefore, this initial study examined the expression of PRL and its receptor in the baboon uterus during the cycle and pregnancy. PRL and PRL receptor messenger ribonucleic acid expression were detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR, and protein was localized by immunocytochemistry. PRL was shown to be expressed in myometrial smooth muscle during the follicular phase by both RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. Expression of PRL messenger ribonucleic acid