The Role of Chicken Prolactin, Growth Hormone and Their Receptors in the Immune System

Guodong Mo; Bowen Hu; Ping Wei; Qingbin Luo; Xiquan Zhang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.900041

The Role of Chicken Prolactin, Growth Hormone and Their Receptors in the Immune System

Front Microbiol. 2022 Jul 14:13:900041. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.900041. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Guodong Mo^{1

2

3}, Bowen Hu^{1

2

3}, Ping Wei⁴, Qingbin Luo^{1

2

3}, Xiquan Zhang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
² Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Institute for Poultry Science and Health, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.

Abstract

Prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) exhibit important roles in the immune system maintenance. In poultry, PRL mainly plays its roles in nesting, hatching, and reproduction, while GH is primarily responding to body weight, fat formation and feed conversion. In this review, we attempt to provide a critical overview of the relationship between PRL and GH, PRLR and GHR, and the immune response of poultry. We also propose a hypothesis that PRL, GH and their receptors might be used by viruses as viral receptors. This may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of viral infection and host immune response.

Keywords: chicken; growth hormone; immune response; prolactin; receptor.

Publication types

Review