Kallikrein- and prolactin-producing cells in the rat anterior pituitary are the same.

ABSTRACT

Kallikrein-positive cells in the anterior pituitary of female rats were identified to be the same as prolactin-producing cells by using an immunoelectron microscopic method. The kallikrein immunoreactivity was localized at the Golgi apparatus, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and secretory granules, suggesting that kallikrein is synthesized in the prolactin-producing cells and also may be secreted into the blood vessels.