A successful pregnancy requires precise coordination of maternal physiology and fetal development. The placenta produces many factors which may be responsible for regulating these processes. Among these are members of the growth hormone/prolactin gene family which, by analogy to the pituitary hormones, may influence fetal or placental growth, maternal mammary gland development, maternal energy metabolism, and maintenance of steroid hormone productions, as well as fetal immune maturation and osmotic balance. A family of transcripts produced by the bovine fetal placenta which are related to prolactin have been identified by the PI. In this proposal the PI will characterize their in vivo products, and as a first step toward identifying their function, look for binding sites on potential target tissues.
