SPECIFIC BINDING OF PROLACTIN TO SEMINAL VESICLE, PROSTATE AND TESTICULAR HOMOGENATES OF IMMATURE, MATURE AND AGED RATS

Abstract

Ovine prolactin was iodinated by the lactoperoxidase method and purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. The binding ability of the labelled hormone was determined, by incubation with liver homogenate from rabbits in late pregnancy, to be 8·8% total binding/ mg protein, of which 86% was specific. The fraction of ¹²⁵I-labelled ovine prolactin which bound most strongly was subsequently used to study its binding to rat seminal vesicle, prostate and testicular homogenates. The total binding to the seminal vesicle homogenate taken from mature (80-day-old) rats was the highest (11·69%/mg protein), but the greatest degree of binding specificity (82·6%) was to immature (30-day-old) rat prostate. Both total and specific binding to rat testicular homogenate were consistently very low. The binding specificity was demonstrated by displacement studies: while ovine prolactin caused displacement of specific binding, human chorionic gonadotrophin, rat thyrotrophin and human follicle-stimulating hormone did not cause any significant displacement of bound ¹²⁵I-labelled ovine prolactin. Affinity constants (K_a) and binding capacities for the seminal vesicle and prostate homogenates were determined by Scatchard analysis and the effect of age on these parameters was studied. There was no difference in K_a between the aged (220-day-old), immature and mature rat tissue homogenates; however, a significant fall in binding capacity was observed in the mature rat prostate, and a further fall in the aged rat prostate. No such change was observed in the binding capacity of the seminal vesicle, as estimated by Scatchard analysis, although total and specific binding to the mature homogenates was higher than that of the other age groups.