ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Sciences
Prolactin and oxytocin as modulators of intestinal contractility and glucose uptake
Provisionally accepted
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Prolactin (PRL) and oxytocin (OT) are bioactive hormones naturally present in maternal milk that support neonatal development, which particularly contribute to immune regulation and gut maturation in infants, promoting growth, and cell differentiation in the small intestine. However, the role of each hormone and their combination in intestinal function remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the physiological effects of PRL and OT on intestinal motility, nitric oxide (NO) production, and glucose uptake, to better understand their influence during early development. Precontracted intestinal segments were placed in physiological solution, connected to isometric transducers, exposed to increasing or single concentrations of PRL, OT, or PRL+OT, and changes in contractile responses were recorded. Glucose uptake was measured using everted sacs, and NO production via the Griess method. PRL, OT, and PRL+OT modulated intestinal contractile activity, with effects depending on the segment. OT induced higher NO levels than PRL at cumulative concentrations. A single concentration of PRL or OT mostly preserved the contraction vs % of the maximal contraction induced by KCl (100 %), while PRL+OT reduced it and NO production in the duodenum and jejunum, but not ileum. Individually, PRL and OT enhanced glucose uptake, while their combination inhibited it, suggesting a modulatory mechanism regulating nutrient absorption. These findings support the role of PRL and OT as maternal milk-derived regulators of intestinal functions.
Keywords: Nitric Oxide, Oxytocin, Prolactin, small intestine, Smooth muscle
Received: 12 Sep 2025; Accepted: 07 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Figueroa-Carrasco, Velarde-Salcedo and Gonzalez. 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: Carmen Gonzalez
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.