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Lactogen

An agent that stimulates milk production or secretion.

Origin: Lacto-_ g. -gen, producing

human placental lactogen (HPL), lactogen isolated from human placentas and structurally similar to somatotropin; its biological activity weakly mimics that of somatotropin and prolactin; secreted into maternal circulation; a deficiency of HPL during pregnancy leads to children having abnormal intrauterine and postnatal growth.

Synonym: choriomammotropin, chorionic growth hormone-prolactin, human chorionic somatomammotropic hormone, human chorionic somatomammotropin, placenta protein, placental growth hormone, purified placental protein.