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A Novel Transmembrane Protein with Epidermal Growth Factor and Follistatin Domains Expressed in the Hypothalamo‐Hypophysial Axis of Xenopus laevis
Author(s) -
Eib Douglas W.,
Martens Gerard J. M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1996.67031047.x
Subject(s) - xenopus , biology , follistatin , median eminence , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , transmembrane protein , toad , population , endocrinology , pituitary gland , vasotocin , hypothalamus , receptor , neuropeptide , gene , genetics , demography , sociology , hormone
Through the use of a screening strategy designed to isolate novel cDNAs encoding proteins concerned with pituitary secretion in Xenopus laevis , we discovered clone X7365, which encodes a transmembrane protein with a signal peptide, two follistatin modules, a unique epidermal growth factor domain, and a short cytoplasmic region. RNA expression analyses indicated that the X7365 transcript is enriched in neuroendocrine tissues. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that, in addition to being expressed in the optic tectum and in astrocytes in the optic nerve, the X7365 protein is concentrated in a discrete population of hypothalamic magnocellular neurons. Axons projecting to the median eminence and the neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary were also immunopositive, suggesting that X7365 functions in the regulation of magnocellular neurosecretion.