Bioactivity of macroprolactin in the Nb2 bioassay may be explained by dissociation yielding bioactive monomeric prolactin

Macroprolactinaemia in patients with hyperprolactinaemia: composition of macroprolactin and stability during long‐term follow‐up

“…Hyperprolactinaemia is found in some of these cases, and macroprolactinaemia is coincidentally found among them. Because the biological activity of macroprolactin itself is low, 9–12 irregular menses and/or galactorrhoea observed in some patients with macroprolactinaemia 3–6 are considered to be attributed to other pathological conditions that may coexist with macroprolatinaemia. 4,5 …”

Macroprolactinaemia: prevalence and aetiologies in a large group of hospital workers

“…Most patients with macroprolactinaemia have normal menses, exhibit no gonadal dysfunction, 7,[11][12][13] and become pregnant without any medical treatment 7,12 because the bioactivity of macroprolactin is low. [22][23][24][25][26] However, some patients with hyperprolactinaemia caused by macroprolactinaemia have menstrual irregularities or gonadal dysfunction because of causes unrelated to PRL. In such cases, the symptoms may be attributed to hyperprolactinaemia if the clinician does not consider the possibility of macroprolactinaemia, resulting in inappropriate treatment with dopamine D2 receptor agonists 27 or surgery without long-term benefit.…”

“…Most patients with macroprolactinaemia have normal menses, exhibit no gonadal dysfunction, 7,11–13 and become pregnant without any medical treatment 7,12 because the bioactivity of macroprolactin is low 22–26 . However, some patients with hyperprolactinaemia caused by macroprolactinaemia have menstrual irregularities or gonadal dysfunction because of causes unrelated to PRL.…”

Dosages de prolactine Elecsys® : transition Prolactin Prolactin II

“…La big prolactine et la macroprolactine sont considérées comme inactives in vivo [15]. L'activité biologique de la macroprolactine mise en évidence avec certains dosages biologiques in vitro serait due à une dissociation de la prolactine fixée aux anticorps [7,9]. La macroprolactine et la big prolactine sont reconnues, au moins en partie, par les immunodosages actuels [2,12,15].…”