# PLACENTAL LACTOGENS:  REGULATION AND BIOACTIVITY

> **NIH NIH R37** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ · 1994 · $444,884

## Abstract

The mouse placenta produces two placental lactogens:  mouse
placental lactogen-I (mPL-I) and mPL-II.  The long-term objectives
of the project are to understand what functions these hormones
perform in various target tissues and to understand what regulates
their production and concentrations in the fetal and maternal
blood.  Although relatively little is known at present about the
biological activities and regulation of secretion of PLs in various
species, it is clear from what is known, that PLs participate in
several important processes during pregnancy, such as stimulating
mammary gland differentiation, regulating maternal and fetal
intermediary metabolism, and stimulating fetal growth.  In the long
term, investigating the physiology of PLs will contribute to a
better understanding of the processes that influence fetal health
and survival during pregnancy.  The studies outlined in this
renewal application are a continuation of previous work in this
laboratory on the biological activity and regulation of secretion
of mPL-I and mPL-II.

A primary culture system will be developed for examining the
regulation of mPL-I secretion.  It will be used to screen mPL-I
secretagogues.

The biological activity of mPL-I will be examined with respect to
its ability to inhibit prolactin surges in midpregnant mice, using
recombinant mPL-I.

The regulation of secretion of mPL-II will be examined in several
series of experiments.  The mechanism by which the pituitary gland
suppresses the maternal serum mPL-II concentration will be
investigated.  A mPL-II-releasing factor present in the decidua
will be purified and its physiology will be examined.  Effects of
gonadotropin-releasing hormone and growth hormone-releasing hormone
on the synthesis and release of mPL-II and total placental proteins
will be examined and the presence of these peptides in the mouse
placenta will be investigated.

The biological activity of mPL-II in the maternal mammary gland
will be examined with respect to the stimulation of alpha-
lactalbumin production.  experiments will also be performed to
identify proteins whose synthesis is stimulated by mPL-II in fetal
mouse hepatocytes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2197157
- **Project number:** 4R37HD014966-14
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ
- **SAM.gov UEI:** VXUFPE4MCZH5
- **Principal Investigator:** FRANK J. TALAMANTES
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $444,884
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 1980-12-01 → 1998-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2197157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2197157, PLACENTAL LACTOGENS:  REGULATION AND BIOACTIVITY (4R37HD014966-14). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2197157. Licensed CC0.

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