The effect of ethanol on prolactin secretion in vitro.

In order to investigate the action of ethanol on the anterior pituitary gland, the effect of ethanol on prolactin secretion in vitro was studied. Ethanol significantly increased the in vitro incorporation of 3H-leucine into both prolactin contained within the pituitary gland and that released into the medium. The enhancement of 3H labelled-prolactin synthesis induced by ethanol was suppressed by cycloheximide. These results support the hypothesis that ethanol stimulates the in vitro synthesis and release of prolactin by the pituitary gland.