Genome-wide association study of prolactin levels in blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid.

BACKGROUND

Prolactin is a polypeptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that plays an essential role in lactation, tissue growth, and suppressing apoptosis to increase cell survival. Prolactin serves as a key player in many life-critical processes, including immune system and reproduction. Prolactin is also found in multiple fluids throughout the body, including plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

METHODS

In this study, we measured prolactin levels in both plasma and CSF, and performed a genome-wide association study. We then performed meta-analyses using METAL with a significance threshold of p < 5 × 10(-8) and removed SNPs where the direction of the effect was different between the two datasets.

RESULTS

We identified 12 SNPs associated with increased prolactin levels in both biological fluids.

CONCLUSIONS

Our efforts will help researchers understand how prolactin is regulated in both CSF and plasma, which could be beneficial in research for the immune system and reproduction.