Acronym NA
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Differential neuroendocrine regulation of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in Atlantic cod and GFP-transgenic medaka Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Finn-Arne Weltzien Coordinator email finn-arne.weltzien@nmbu.no
Coordinator institution
NMBU - Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2008 End year 2013 Funding (€) € 967,188 Website https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/en/project/FORISS/184851?Kilde=FORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=date&sortOrder=desc&resultCount=30&offset=0&Organisasjon.3=NORGES+VETERIN%C3%86RH%C3%98GSKOLE Summary This project investigates how pituitary gonadotrope cells develop and mature during puberty, and how the two gonadotropins, FSH and LH, are differentially regulated. Puberty is regulated by the brain-pituitary-gonad axis. Forebrain GnRH binds to specific receptors on pituitary gonadotropes, thereby stimulating synthesis and release of two distinct gonadotropins, FSH and LH, which again stimulate gonadal development. Increased release of GnRH from hypothalamus and functional maturation of gonadotropes are probably key factors in pubertal development, but the triggering mechanism(s) are not known in any vertebrate. Furthermore, the differential regulation of FSH and LH is not well understood. Teleosts are useful models for studying puberty in that they have separate cells producing FSH and LH, in contrast to mammals that only have one gonadotrope cell type producing both hormones. Two different models will be used: The economically important Atlantic cod, and 2 newly developed transgenic lines of medaka, where green fluorescent protein (GFP) is coupled to the promoters of FSH and LH, respectively, enabling isolation of FSH- and LH-producing gonadotropes directly from a pituitary primary culture. We will trace the development of GFP-medaka gonadotropes in vivo. Furthermore, large-scale gene expression studies and electrophysiological / imaging analyses will be performed on the two models to identify differential membrane properties, intracellular signalling pathways, and gene expression patterns in FSH- and LH-producing gonadotropes before and after puberty. The combination of molecular and electrophysiological methods planned in this project will be powerful tools for obtaining new insight into puberty regulation in fish.
Goal:
To investigate the differential regulation of the two gonadotropins, FSH and LH, in fish, and how pituitary gonadotrope cells develop and mature during puberty. Four main tasks are specified: (1) Trace gonadotrope development in GFP-transgenic medaka in vivo; (2) Large-scale expression analysis to determine differential expression patterns in FSH- and LH-producing gonadotropes related to sex and different stages of pubertal development. Comparative experiments using cod and GFP-transgenic medaka; (3) Electrophysiological and microfluorometric investigations of basic membrane properties, characterization of intracellular signalling pathways, and the effects of various receptor ligands on FSH- and LH-producing gonadotropes, respectively. Differences in cellular properties related to sex and different stages of pubertal development will also be investigated. Comparative experiments using cod and GFP-transgenic medaka; (4) Determine limiting component(s) in the pubertal maturation of gonadotropes in GFP-transgenic medaka through gene over-expression or silencing, in parallel with electrophysiological studies.
Keywords
Fish biology;
Genetic;
Fish reproduction;
Cod;
Fish;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
Marine Region Map
