Abstract
Molecular heterogeneity of immunoreactive human PRL (IR-hPRL) plasma was assessed by exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-100 in blood drawn from 4 normal adults, 3 newborn infants, 2 late gestational women, 3 patients with primary hypothyroidism and high PRL levels, 2 with functional hyperprolactinemia, 3 with acromegaly, and 10 with PRLsecreting tumors. Three forms of PRL, each of different apparent molecular weight, were detected: the so-called big-big hPRL eluted with the void volume, big hPRL appeared after the albumin peak, and little hPRL eluted as monomeric hPRL. In normal subjects, the proportion of big-big, big, and little hPRL components was 5.1 ± 1.7%, 9.1 ± 0.9%, and 85.8 ± 2.3%, respectively, without significant change in the distribution of the different forms after TRF stimulation. In 8 of 10 patients with PRL-secreting tumors, we detected 3.9 ± 0.8%, 14.3 ± 1.1%, and 81.8 ± 1.1%, respectively, a significantly higher proportion of big PRL. In 2 additional patients with prolactinomas, the...
Published Version
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