Premium
Presence and Distribution of Urocortin and Corticotrophin‐Releasing Hormone Receptors in the Bovine Thyroid Gland
Author(s) -
Squillacioti C.,
Luca A.,
Alì S.,
Ciarcia R.,
Germano G.,
Vittoria A.,
Mirabella N.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
anatomia, histologia, embryologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1439-0264
pISSN - 0340-2096
DOI - 10.1111/ahe.12094
Subject(s) - urocortin , autocrine signalling , western blot , medicine , paracrine signalling , thyroid , endocrinology , immunoprecipitation , receptor , chemistry , immunohistochemistry , hormone , biology , biochemistry , gene
Summary Urocortin (UCN), a 40 amino acid peptide, is a corticotrophin‐releasing hormone (CRH)‐related peptide. The biological actions of CRH family peptides are mediated via two types of G‐protein‐coupled receptors, CRH type 1 (CRHR1) and CRH type 2 (CRHR2). The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of UCN, CRHR1 and CRHR2 by immunoprecipitation, Western blot, immunohistochemistry and RT‐PCR in the bovine thyroid gland. Immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis showed that tissue extracts reacted with the anti‐UCN, anti‐CRHR1 and anti‐CRHR2 antibodies. RT‐PCR experiments demonstrated that mRNA s of UCN, CRHR1 and CRHR2 were expressed. UCN immunoreactivity (IR) and CRHR2–IR were found in the thyroid follicular and parafollicular cells and CRHR1‐IR in the smooth muscle of the blood vessels. These results suggest that a regulatory system exists in the bovine thyroid gland based on UCN, CRHR1 and CRHR2 and that UCN plays a role in the regulation of thyroid physiological functions through an autocrine/paracrine mechanism.