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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders: Autoinflammatory Disorders

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1608875

This article is part of the Research TopicClinical and Immunological Phenotypic Characterization to better understand Pathogenesis and Response to Therapies in Systemic Autoimmune DiseasesView all 4 articles

Exploring the Interplay of Prolactin and Bromocriptine on Serum Markers in Granulomatous Lobular Mastitis

Provisionally accepted
Binheng  LiuBinheng Liu1Wenchao  QuWenchao Qu2Li  ZengLi Zeng1*Weiping  ChenWeiping Chen1*Hua  WanHua Wan2*Xueqing  WuXueqing Wu2Yi  FengYi Feng3Jiamei  FengJiamei Feng2Qingqian  GaoQingqian Gao2Shijun  ShaoShijun Shao2佳晔  孙佳晔 孙2
  • 1Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
  • 2Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the relationship between PRL level and serum inflammatory and immune markers in patients with granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM), and analyzed the effect of bromocriptine treatment on serum inflammatory and immune markers in patients with GLM. These analyses were conducted to illustrate that PRL is not only an endocrine hormone but also an immune factor, thereby providing evidence that GLM is an autoimmune disease.We conducted a retrospective analysis of GLM cases admitted between 2023 and 2024. Clinical features were compared between patients with differential prolactin (PRL) levels using nonparametric tests, with concomitant documentation of prevalent clinical manifestations. Spearman's rank correlation was employed to assess associations between PRL concentrations and clinical characteristics/serum biomarkers. To evaluate bromocriptine's therapeutic efficacy, a propensity scorematched (PSM) cohort was established. Longitudinal serological changes were analyzed using nonparametric statistical methods for paired comparisons.Results: Elevated prolactin levels significantly correlated with lesion size (p<0.05).Patients with abnormal PRL exhibited lower 6-month cure rates compared to those with normal levels (93.1% vs. 100%, p=0.02). Baseline-PRL positively associated with neutrophil counts (NE#), Immunoglobulin E (IgE), and ceruloplasmin (CER) (all p<0.05). After treatment, baseline-PRL remained linked to elevated neutrophils, Creactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), T4 lymphocyte percentage (CD4+ T cells), and IgE, but inversely correlated with lymphocytes (all p<0.05). Propensity-matched analysis (17 bromocriptine-treated vs. 13 no-treated) revealed reduced ESR, downregulated major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) expression, and increased interleukin 4 (IL4), interleukin 5 (IL5), and regulatory T cell percentage (Treg%) levels in the treatment group (all p<0.05).Our findings suggest prolactin may act as an immunomodulatory factor in GLM, potentially influencing T/B-cell immunity and inflammatory cytokine recruitment. Additionally, the observed correlation between prolactin and ceruloplasmin positions ceruloplasmin as a candidate biomarker for GLM, though further validation in independent cohorts is required.

Keywords: Granulomatous lobular mastitis, Prolactin, immune, Inflammatory, Pathogenesis, Ceruloplasmin

Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Qu, Zeng, Chen, Wan, Wu, Feng, Feng, Gao, Shao and 孙. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Li Zeng, Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
Weiping Chen, Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
Hua Wan, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, Beijing Municipality, China

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