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ThermoTRP channels are upregulated during incubation in the skin of the brood patch in junglefowl hens
Author(s) -
Altimiras Jordi,
Jafari Shadi
Publication year - 2009
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.23.1_supplement.1018.5
Subject(s) - brood , incubation , skin patch , biology , zoology , medicine , dermatology , biochemistry
Egg incubation in birds relies on the supply of heat through a specialized skin region, the brood patch, which develops seasonally after defeathering, epidermal hyperplasia and vascularisation of ventral skin regions. The brood patch is highly sensitive to temperature and, unlike other vascular beds, responds to local cooling with vasodilation (cold‐induced vasodilation) but the molecular mechanisms leading to the differential vascular response are largerly unknown. We hypothesized that thermoTRP in the avian brood patch could serve two complementary functions: 1) as temperature sensors and 2) as local regulators of vascular resistance. In skin RNA extracts we showed the presence of TRPV1, TRPV3 and TRPM8 but not TRPA1 using RT‐PCR techniques and confirmed the upregulation of TRPV3 but not TRPV1 in broody hens compared to non‐broody hens using qPCR techniques. Supported by a research grant from the Swedish Research Council (VR).