THE EFFECT OF ANTI-PROLACTIN ANTIBODY ON IN-VITRO SYNTHESIS OF A PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED RAT UTERINE GLYCOPROTEIN

Experiments were conducted to study the hormonal (estrogen [E-2], prog esterone [P-4] and prolactin [PRL]), regulation of synthesis of a preg nancy-associated glycoprotein (named Uterine Agglutinin or UA) in the Day 4 post coital (p.c.) rat uterus with antibody administration and i mmunohistochemistry. Of the antibodies used, it was shown that anti-PR L antibody was the most effective in reducing in vitro UA synthesis. T he results suggested that in vitro UA synthesis could be correlated to serum PRL levels as analyzed by radio-immunoassay. Binding studies re vealed that PRL bound specifically to the stromal cells of the rat ute rus where UA is produced and localized.