Prolactin Actions on Fetal and Maternal Tissues During Pregnancy
Finally, we are examining several targets during pregnancy to study the structural differences between the pituitary and placental hormones on signal transduction and cross talk with other growth factors. These include endometrial cell lines to examine modulation of uterine function as it may occur during pregnancy, and studies of the multiple cell types within the developing fetal immune system. These latter cells acquire prolactin and growth hormone receptors temporally correlated with development of immune competence, and these hormones are able to modulate cytokine expression. Using fetal thymocytes as well as thymic stromal cells, we are investigating the pathways by which this occurs.