Prolactin is a neuroendocrine peptide hormone that is secreted primarily by the pituitary gland. Prolactin receptor is a class 1 cytokine transmembrane receptor that varies in size with tissue source and species. It consists of an extracellular region with 5 cysteines which contains the prolactin binding site, a single transmembrane domain and a cytoplasmic region. The extracellular domain (Gln25-Asp234) is expressed recombinantly, purified by chromatography, sterile filtered and lyophilized. >95percent pure by SDS-PAGE and biologically active as measured by inhibitory activity toward prolactin-induced proliferation of Nb2-11 rat lymphoma cells (Gout et al. (1980) Cancer Res. 40:2433). ED50 for this effect is typically < 1.0 ug/ml in the presence of 0.5 ng/ml of recombinant human Prolactin. Add deionized water to original volume, aliquot and freeze unused portion.

This chiMAX Fc Fusion Protein is glycosylated and expressed as a chimera with the Fc region of mouse immunoglobulin (heavy chain hinge, CH2 and CH3). Fc fusion proteins are typically more stable and resistant to degradation and clearance than native cytokines. Fc fusion proteins appear as a dimer in SDS-PAGE under non-reducing conditions.