CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Prolactin is named after its vital role of promoting milk production during lactation,although it has been implicated in multiple functions within the body, including metabolism and energy homeostasis. Prolactin has been hypothesised to play a keyrole in driving many of the adaptations of the maternal body to allow the mother tomeet the physiological demands of both pregnancy and lactation, including the highenergetic demands of the growing foetus followed by milk production to supportthe offspring after birth. Prolactin receptors are found in many tissues involved inmetabolism and food intake, such as the pancreas, liver, hypothalamus, small intestine and adipose tissue. We review the literature examining the effects of prolactinin these various tissues and how they relate to changes in function in physiologicalstates of high prolactin, such as pregnancy and lactation, and in pathological states ofhyperprolactinaemia in the adult. In many cases, whether prolactin promotes healthymetabolism or leads to dysregulation of metabolic functions is highly dependent onthe situation. Overall, although prolactin may not play a major role in regulating metabolism and body weight outside of pregnancy and lactation, it definitely has theability to contribute to metabolic function.