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Expression of gonadotropin receptors in the rat hypothalamo‐pituitary axis
Author(s) -
Hull Kerry Lynn,
Nutley Mark,
Render Caroline,
Harvey Steve
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.1195.4
Subject(s) - biology , medicine , luteinizing hormone , receptor , endocrinology , hypothalamus , gonadotropic cell , pituitary gland , follicle stimulating hormone receptor , complementary dna , gonadotropin , follicle stimulating hormone , hormone receptor , hormone , gene , genetics , cancer , breast cancer
The gonadotropins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) control numerous aspects of neural function. They also inhibit gonadotropin secretion at hypothalamic and possibly pituitary sites. Surprisingly, little attention has been focused on the possible involvement of neural LH and FSH receptors in these effects. In partial support of this hypothesis, Lei et al. detected LH receptor transcripts in brain but not pituitary tissue. The possibility that FSH and LH receptor transcripts may be present in the brain and pituitary gland of the rat was therefore investigated, using the polymerase chain reaction. LH receptor cDNAs of expected size (600 bp) were generated from ovarian or testicular reverse‐transcribed RNA. Conversely, a smaller cDNA moiety of 520 bp was amplified from reverse‐transcribed RNA isolated from the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and extrahypothalamic brain regions. Similarly, several FSH receptor cDNA moieties were amplified in reverse‐transcribed RNA from the testis and ovary, including the 990 bp moiety predicted by the full‐length FSH receptor sequence and a 600 bp cDNA. Only the 600 bp cDNA was detected in the brain and pituitary gland. These results therefore suggest that the FSH and LH receptor genes are expressed in neural and pituitary tissue. However, these receptor transcripts may not encode full‐length receptors. This work was supported by NSERC.