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The regulation of binding of ¹²⁵I-labelled human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) to testis was studied in mutant mice with congenital deficiency of prolactin (dw/dw), in mice with prolactin deficiency induced by treatment with bromocriptine and in normal untreated mice. After injection of hCG, normal mice showed a dose-related decrease in testicular hCG binding and subsequent recovery from down-regulation, similar to previous findings in the rat. Mice with congenital prolactin deficiency had a similar dose–response curve of receptor loss after hCG administration, but recovered from down-regulation faster than the normal mice. Induction of prolactin deficiency with bromocriptine prevented down-regulation of hCG binding. The differential effects of congenital and drug-induced prolactin deficiency could be related to a difference in the duration of the deficiency or to its severity. However, this difference could also suggest direct effects of the dw mutation and/or bromocriptine on the Leydig cells.