FIGURE 1.
Vasoinhibins are produced from proteolytic cleavage of 23‐kDa PRL by several endogenous proteolytic enzymes, such as cathepsin D, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), and bone morphogenetic protein‐1 (BMP‐1). 35 And vasoinhibins contain the NH2‐terminal part of the mature PRL protein but not the COOH‐terminal fragment. Prolactin (PRL) promotes angiogenesis, whereas vasoinhibins possess antiangiogenic property. The specific impact on vascular is shown in the figure. The solid line has an arrow to indicate the promoting effect, and the other line indicates the inhibiting effect.