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Sex steroid and thyroid hormone receptor expressions in the thyroid of the American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ) during different life stages
Author(s) -
Bermudez Dieldrich S.,
Skotko Jeremy P.,
Ohta Yasuhiko,
Boggs Ashley S.P.,
Iguchi Taisen,
Guillette Louis J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.10936
Subject(s) - biology , thyroid , medicine , alligator , endocrinology , sex hormone receptor , estrogen receptor , hormone , immunostaining , thyroid hormone receptor , sex steroid , american alligator , androgen receptor , receptor , androgen , hormone receptor , sexual dimorphism , immunohistochemistry , steroid , cancer , paleontology , prostate cancer , breast cancer
The expression of estrogen receptors, ESR1 (ERα) and ESR2 (ERβ), and androgen receptors (AR) in the thyroid gland has been reported in few vertebrate species other than a few mammals. This study reports the presence of sex steroid hormone receptors and thyroid receptors (ERα, ERβ, AR, TRα, and TRβ) in the thyroid gland of the American alligator at several life stages. It provides a semiquantification and distribution of ERα in the thyroid follicle cells using an immunohistochemical approach as well as reports quantitative differences in mRNA expression of ERα, ERβ, TRα, TRβ, and AR in the same tissue using quantitative real time‐PCR (Q‐PCR) with primers designed specifically for alligators. The thyroid tissue of the American alligator expresses ERα, ERβ, and AR at all of the life stages examined here although no statistically significant differences were observed between male and female in thyroid mRNA expression for any of the genes analyzed. No sexual dimorphism was observed in ERα immunostaining. No statistical analysis across life stages were performed due to confounding factor of season. J. Morphol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.