Journal article

Prolactin is involved in glial responses following a focal injury to the juvenile rat brain

TAE Moderscheim, T Gorba, P Pathipati, IC Kokay, DR Grattan, CE Williams, A Scheepens

NEUROSCIENCE | PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD | Published : 2007

Abstract

A cerebral growth hormone axis is activated following brain injury in the rat and treatment with growth hormone is neuroprotective. We have now investigated whether the closely related prolactin axis has similar properties following injury to the developing rat brain. From one day following a unilateral hypoxic ischemic injury, prolactin immunoreactivity was increased in the affected cortex parallel to the development of the injury (P<0.001). Initial prolactin and prolactin receptor staining on penumbral neurons progressively decreased whereas astrocytes remained strongly immunopositive. Reactive microglia also became strongly prolactin immunoreactive. Unlike growth hormone, central treatmen..

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University of Melbourne Researchers