Chromatographic pattern of circulating prolactin in ovulatory hyperprolactinemia

Hyperprolactinemia is a major cause of anovulation and female infertility. However, we found 22 hyperprolactinemic patients with preserved ovarian function as assessed by midluteal plasma progesterone levels greater than 7 ng/ml. We performed a gel chromatography on the plasma of six of those patients to study the circulating pattern of prolactin (PRL). In all six patients we found that the vast majority of circulating PRL corresponds to big,big and big PRL, with only a small proportion of monomeric biologically active PRL. This finding might explain the preserved luteal function in those women and might have therapeutic implications.