Increased prolactin receptor immunoreactivity in the hypothalamus of lactating rats

Prolactin (PRL) exerts numerous effects in the brain including induction of maternal behaviour, increased food intake, and inhibition of GnRH secretion. Knowledge about the distribution of PRL receptors (PRL-R) in the brain will be critical for investigating mechanisms of PRL-brain interactions during lactation. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution of PRL-R in specific hypothalamic nuclei of lactating rats by immunohistochemistry and to compare this distribution with that in dioestrous rats. Rats were perfused with 2% paraformaldehyde and brains were cut into coronal sections (18 microm) for immunostaining. Immunoreactivity was detected by the avidin biotin complex method using mouse monoclonal antibody U5. In dioestrous rats, PRL-R immunoreactivity was observed in the choroid plexus, three hypothalamic nuclei: medial preoptic, periventricular and arcuate, and in the median eminence. The number of labelled profiles per section in the medial preoptic and arcuate nuclei increased significantly (P<0.05) in lactating rats (days 7-10 to post partum) when compared with dioestrous rats. Furthermore, in lactating rats, PRL-R immunoreactive neurons were identified in the cerebral cortex, substantia nigra and numerous additional hypothalamic nuclei including the ventromedial preoptic, ventrolateral preoptic, lateroanterior hypothalamic, ventrolateral hypothalamic, paraventricular hypothalamic, supraoptic, suprachiasmatic, and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei. These observations assist our understanding of the multiple sites of PRL effects on brain function during lactation.