Regulation of insulin receptors by prolactin in lactating rat mammary gland.

Bromocriptine treatment of lactating rats, or removal of the litter, led to a decrease in the number of insulin receptors in the mammary gland and an increase in the concentration of insulin in the serum. Bromocriptine also induced a decrease in the concentration of both prolactin and progesterone in the serum, whilst concurrent treatment with the former but not the latter prevented all the effects of bromocriptine for 48 h. Removal of the litter produced a similar decrease in the concentration in the serum of prolactin but not of progesterone. Treatment with prolactin prevented all of the effects of removal of the litter for 24 but not 48 h. This suggests that these effects of prolactin may require a mammary gland actually synthesizing milk since the gland rapidly fills with milk after removing the litter whereas milk removal continues to take place in bromocriptine-treated rats allowed to continue nursing their litters.