T-cell dysregulation in patients with hyperprolactinemia: effect of bromocriptine treatment

We studied four patients with tumoral hyperprolactinemia and normal ovarian function before and after prolactine levels had become normal with treatment with bromocriptine (BrC), a dopamine agonist that inhibits prolactin release. Their proliferative responses to concanavalin A, pokeweed mitogen, and, to a lesser extent, phytohemagglutinin, their spontaneous and concanavalin A-induced suppression, and their production of interleukin 2 were found to be decreased and to correct partially or completely after bromocriptine treatment. The T-cell response to interleukin 2 was low in two patients in whom it increased after BrC treatment. These findings give insight on the immunomodulatory role of prolactin in vivo.