Isolation of prolactin from human amniotic fluid

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Endocrinology
• Reproductive Biology

Background:

• Amniotic fluid contains various bioactive substances.
• Prolactin plays crucial roles in reproduction and lactation.
• Efficient purification methods are needed for isolating specific hormones from biological fluids.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and purify prolactin from term amniotic fluid.
• To characterize the purity and activity of the isolated prolactin.
• To assess the absence of contaminating hormones like somatotropin and human placental lactogen.

Main Methods:

• Centrifugation and ultrafiltration of amniotic fluid.
• Gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-100).
• Ion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-cellulose).
• Isoelectric focusing.
• Radioimmunoassays for hormone activity assessment.

Main Results:

• A yield of 0.21 mg of purified prolactin was obtained per liter of amniotic fluid.
• The purified prolactin exhibited a specific activity of 40 units/mg.
• The isolated prolactin was demonstrated to be free of somatotropin and human placental lactogen contamination.

Conclusions:

• Term amniotic fluid is a viable source for prolactin extraction.
• The applied purification strategy effectively isolated highly pure prolactin.
• The purified prolactin is suitable for further research or therapeutic development due to its high purity and specific activity.