Regulation of mouse placental lactogen secretion by factors secreted from the pituitary in vitro

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.

The effect of factors secreted from the pituitary on mouse placental lactogen I (mPL-I) and mPL-II secretion in vitro was examined. Co-culture of mouse placental cells from day 7 of pregnancy with the pituitary cells of the mother significantly stimulated mPL-I secretion but did not regulate mPL-II secretion. The effect on mPL-I secretion was dependent on the number of pituitary cells. The conditioned medium of pituitary cells also significantly stimulated mPL-I secretion but did not regulate mPL-II secretion. The stimulatory effect of mPL-I secretion was dependent on the volume of the conditioned medium. The number of cells containing mPL-I assessed by immunocytochemistry was increased by the co-culture in a cell number-dependent manner. Northern blot analysis for mPL-I indicated that treatment of placental cells with the pituitary-conditioned medium results in an increase of mPL-I gene expression. These findings suggest that factors secreted from the pituitary directly regulate mPL-I secretion, but not mPL-II secretion, before midpregnancy in vivo.