Objectives: Prolactin is vital for breastfeeding and milk production, and its secretion is influenced by factors related to the mother, infant, and environment. To date, no study has concurrently investigated the correlation of these factors with serum prolactin levels during lactation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the correlations among maternal and infant factors, lead exposure, and serum prolactin levels during lactation. Methods: A cross-sectional approach was employed in Surabaya, Indonesia, among 110 exclusively lactating mothers. The mothers’ daily diets were determined using multiple 24-hour recalls, while blood lead levels were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Serum prolactin levels were assessed using the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. For bivariate analysis, we employed the Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests, while for multivariate analysis, we utilized multiple linear regression. Results: The average serum prolactin level of the lactating mothers was 129.19±88.96 ng/mL. Positive correlations were found between serum prolactin levels and breastfeeding frequency (p < 0.001), protein intake (p < 0.001), and calcium intake (p = 0.011) but had negative correlation with blood lead levels (p < 0.001) and vitamin B6 intake (p = 0.003). Additionally, prolactin levels were not significantly associated with maternal age; parity; intake of calories, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, folic acid, magnesium, or iron; infant age; or infant sex. Conclusions Breastfeeding frequency had a stronger positive relationship with serum prolactin levels than protein and calcium intake. However, lead exposure was associated with reduced serum prolactin levels during lactation. Consequently, specific interventions from policymakers are necessary to manage breastfeeding in mothers exposed to lead.

Introduction: Choriocarcinoma is malignant cancer originating from placental trophoblast. The incidence of this cancer is estimated at 0.57-1.1 per 1000 births in the United States of America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. The rate is much higher in South East Asia and Japan with two occurrences per a thousand births. Telomerase activity is an important part of the apoptotic process. Increased telomerase activity will result in cellular immortality and poor prognosis in cancer. Vitamin A possess an essential role in cell proliferation and differentiation. One of the active metabolites of vitamin A is All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA). Methods: In this study, we examined the role of ATRA against telomerase activity in choriocarcinoma cell. This cell was derived from BeWo cell line (ATCC CCL-98) and were given different doses of ATRA. Results: From this study, Choriocarcinoma cell that was given ATRA in dosage of 50μg/ml inhibit telomerase activity by extending the cycle time of 39.51±0.09, compared to the control group with a cycle time of 37.62±0.43. Cycle length change consistently with higher dose of ATRA. Conclusion: This study has proven that ATRA could inhibit telomerase activity by lengthening the cycle. Changes in the increase of ATRA doses in this experimental test need to be studied further on experimental animals, either administered as a single agent or as an addition to standard treatment of trophoblastic disease