lactoferrin and Galactorrhea

It has been previously reported that men with and without known disease can produce milk, but no studies to date have demonstrated that their secretion contains milk constituents produced specifically by the breast. The present study shows the presence of lactose, alpha-lactalbumin, and lactoferrin in the breast secretion of a 27-yr-old male who had galactorrhea associated with hyperprolactinaemia. The concentrations of lactose, proteins, and electrolytes in the breast secretion of this man are within the range of colostrum and milk obtained from normal lactating women.

Topics: Adult; Colostrum; Female; Galactorrhea; Humans; Lactalbumin; Lactation Disorders; Lactoferrin; Lactose; Male; Milk, Human; Pregnancy; Prolactin

Activity was seen in the breasts of a patient with galactorrhea 72 h after intravenous injection of Ga-67 citrate. Differential protein separation of breast secretion, extracted from the breast, revealed that the Ga-67 was contained primarily in the lactoferrin-rich protein fraction. Additional studies on partially purified lactoferrin revealed that lactoferrin binds Ga-67 more avidly than does transferrin. Since lactoferrin is present in high concentration non only in human colostrum and milk, but also in neutrophilic leukocytes, bone marrow, spleen, colon, tears, and in genital, salivary, and nasopharyngeal secretions, binding of Ga-67 to lactoferrin may explain the localization of Ga-67 in certain normal tissues and inflammatory lesions.

Topics: Adult; Female; Galactorrhea; Gallium Radioisotopes; Humans; Lactation Disorders; Lactoferrin; Lactoglobulins; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Neoplasm Metastasis; Pregnancy; Protein Binding; Radionuclide Imaging; Spinal Cord Neoplasms