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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Modified Yeast-Two-Hybrid System to Identify Proteins Interacting with the Growth Factor Progranulin
Published on: January 17, 2012
Prolactin releasing peptide (PrRP): an endogenous regulator of cell growth
Willis K Samson1, Meghan M Taylor
1Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Science, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA. samsonwk@slu.edu
Abstract:
Prolactin releasing peptide (PrRP) was originally reported to act in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland to stimulate prolactin (PRL) release; however, numerous other pharmacologic actions of PrRP have been described. In the central nervous system PrRP inhibits food intake, stimulates sympathetic tone, and activates stress hormone secretion. Here, we confirm the presence of immunoreactive PrRP in a pheochromocytoma-derived cell line (PC-12) and the ability of exogenous PrRP to stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity in these cultures. Our novel findings are that PrRP stimulated PC-12 cell growth. Furthermore, a role for endogenous PrRP in PC-12 cell growth is suggested by our observations that antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA molecules, which decrease peptide content in these cells, also decrease thymidine incorporation, suggesting an autocrine action of the peptide.
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