• Animal cells and systems
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.429-437
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• 2009

The control mechanism of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on gonadotropin (GTH) release was studied using cultured pituitary cell or cultured whole pituitary obtained from Testosterone (T) treated and control immature rainbow trout. The release of FSH was not changed by salmon type GnRH (sGnRH), chiken-II type (cGnRH-II), GnRH analogue ([des-$Gly^{10}D-Ala^6$] GnRH ethylamide) and GnRH antagonist ([Ac-3, 4-dehydro-$Pro^1$, D-p-F-$Phe^2$, D-$Trp^{3,6}$] GnRH) in cultured pituitary cells of T-treated and control fish. Indeed, FSH release was not also altered by sGnRH in cultured whole pituitary. All tested drugs had no effect on the release of LH in both culture systems of control fish. The levels of LH, in contrast, such as the pituitary content, basal release and responsiveness to GnRH were increased by T administration in both culture systems. In addition, the release of LH in response to sGnRH or cGnRH-II induced in a dose-dependent manner from cultured pituitary cells of T-treated fish, but which is not significantly different between in both GnRH at the concentration examined. Indeed, LH release was also increased by sGnRH in cultured whole pituitary of T-treated fish. GnRH antagonist suppressed the release of LH by sGnRH ($10^{-8}\;M$) and GnRH analogue ($10^{-8}\;M$) stimulation in a dose-dependent manner from cultured pituitary cells of T-treated fish, and which were totally inhibited by $10^{-7}\;M$ GnRH antagonist. These results indicate that the sensitivity of pituitary cells to GnRH is elevated probably through the T treatment, and that GnRH is involved in the regulation of LH release. GnRH-stimulated LH release is inhibited by GnRH antagonist in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of gonadal steroids on FSH levels are less clear.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.81-88
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• 2016

In many fish species, including Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), gonadal development occurs at the expense of stored energy and nutrients. Therefore, reproductive systems are inhibited by limited food supply. It has been well established that reproductive function is highly sensitive to both metabolic status and energy balance. Nothing is known about the possible mediated connection between energy balance and reproduction. Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide product of the Kiss gene has emerged as an essential gatekeeper of reproduction and may be possibly be linked to energy balance and reproduction in non-mammalians. Thus, in this study, the effect of fasting (10 days) on the expression of kisspeptin and the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene were assessed in Nile tilapia (male and female) using qRT-PCR. In addition, plasma levels of estradiol-$17{\beta}$ ($E_2$) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) in adult tilapia were measured by ELISA. In male tilapia, fasting reduced Kiss2 and GnRH I mRNA expression in the brain and 11-KT level in comparison with the fed tilapia (p < 0.05). In females, however, there were no significant differences in GnRH I mRNA expression and $E_2$ between fish subjected to fasting and those fed (p > 0.05). These data indicate the impact of nutritional states on kisspeptin as a potential regulatory mechanism for the control of reproduction in male Nile tilapia.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.595-602
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• 1997

Treatment of newborn female rats with gonadal steroids induces permanent sterility in adulthood. We investigated the alteration in expression patterns of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in neonatally estrogenized sterile rats (ESR). Newborn female rats received daily injections of 17${\beta}$-estradiol (E, 10 ${\mu}$g) from the day of birth (day 1) to postnatal day 5. Controls were subjected to vehicles over the same period. All animals were sacrificed on week 7 after birth. Hypothalamic GnRH mANA levels were markedly higher in all ESR than in controls, while hypothalamic GnRH contents in ESR increased in proportion to the frequency of daily administration of E. However, both pituitary LH6 mRNA and serum LH levels were inversely decreased by the same treatment. The data indicate that neonatal exposure of E equally elevates the expression of GnRH gene, but reduces the secretion of GnRH, accordingly leading to attenuation of LH6 gene expression and circulating LH levels. The temporal effect of E and/or progesterone (P) on GnRH and LH6 mRNA levels was also examined in ESR. Newborn female rats were daily injected with E (10 ${\mu}$g) or vehicle for five successive days from day 1 and ovariectomized at week 5. They were implanted with E (235 ${\mu}$g/ml) two days prior to week 7, injected with P (1 mg) 42 h later, and sacrificed 7 h after P administration. In ovariectomized controls, hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels were dropped to half by treatment of E and restored by subsequent treatment of P. The negative feedback action of E on GnRH mRNA levels observed in ovariectomized rats was completely blocked by neonatal exposure of E. The change in pituitary LH mRNA levels was similar to that in hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels. Taken together, the results suggest that neonatal treatment of E alters the synthesis and release of GnRH in adulthood and furthermore blocks the negative feedback regulation of E which occurs normally after ovariectomy.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.107-115
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• 2022

Kisspeptins, products of KISS1 gene, are ligands of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPR54), and the kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling has an important role as an upstream regulator of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. Interestingly, extrahypothalamic expressions of kisspeptin/GPR-54 in gonads have been found in primates and experimental rodents such as rats and mice. Hamsters, another potent experimental rodent, also have a kisspeptin-GPR54 system in their ovaries. The presence of testicular kisspeptin-GPR54 system, however, remains to be solved. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the kisspeptin is expressed in hamster testis. To do this, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were employed. After the nest PCR, two cDNA products (320 and 280 bp, respectively) were detected by 3% agarose gel electrophoresis, and sequencing analysis revealed that the 320 bp product was correctly amplified from hamster kisspeptin cDNA. Modest immunoreactive (IR) kisspeptins were detected in Leydig-interstitial cells, and the weak signals were detected in germ cells, mostly in round spermatids and residual bodies of elongated spermatids. In the present study, we found the kisspeptin expression in the testis of Syrian hamster. Further studies on the local role(s) of testicular kisspeptin are expected for a better understanding the physiology of hamster testis, including photoperiodic gonadal regression specifically occurred in hamster gonads.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.127-135
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• 2023

Effects of changes in photoperiod on the reproductive events in fish are suggested to be mediated mainly via the action of melatonin (MEL). Changing levels of plasma MEL throughout the day and year are suggested to influence the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in fish. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of MEL on oocyte maturation and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in the marine fish, Chaenogobius annularis, in vitro. Oocytes at three different stages (pre-, mid-, and late-vitellogenesis) were incubated with (a) only MEL (5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 pg/mL) and (b) 50 pg/mL of 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17α20βP), maturation-inducing hormone (MIH) of this species, and MEL (4-h incubation before addition of MIH). Any single MEL treatment did not significantly induce GVBD. However, treatment with 50 pg/mL MEL or MIH significantly induced GVBD. These results suggest that preincubation with MEL accelerates the effect of MIH on longchin goby oocyte maturation.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.13-16
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• 2001

수온과 광주기 조절에 따른 볼락, Sebastes inermis의 혈장내 성steroid hormone 변화를 조사하였다. 월별 GSI의 변화에서 암컷은 대조구의 경우 11월부터 증가하기 시작하여 1월에 최고값이 되었다. 수온과 광주기를 조절한 실험구중 조절에 반응한 개체들 (Tr-r)에서는 대조구 보다 1개월 늦은 2월에 최고값을 나타내었다 그러나 수온과 광주기의 조절에 반응하지 않은 개체들 (Tr-n)은 GSI의 발달이 중단되어 전 실험기간동안 1.2 이하의 낮은 값을 유지하였다. 수컷의 월별 GSI 변화는 대조구와 조절구 사이에서 뚜렷한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 암컷에서 혈장 E2와 T의 변화는 GSI의 변화와 같이 수온과 광주기를 조절한 실험구가 대조구에 비해 2개월 늦게 최고값에 도달하였다. GSI의 월별 변화에서 차이가 없었던 수컷에서 혈장 11-KT와 T의 월별 변화도 대조구와 조절구에서 큰 차이를 보이지 않았다. 수온과 광주기를 자연상태보다 2개월 늦추어 사육한 결과, 자연상태의 대조구에 비해 암컷의 성숙이 지연되었다. 이것은 수온과 광주기의 자극이 시상하부-뇌하수체-생식소 축을 따라 전달되면서 성 steroid의 분비가 영향을 미쳤기 때문에 난소의 성숙이 지연되었다고 생각된다.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.183-190
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• 2009

In mammals, puberty is a dynamic transition process from infertile immature state to fertile adult state. The neuroendocrine aspect of puberty is started with functional activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal hormone axis. The timing of puberty can be altered by many factors including hormones and/or hormone-like materials, social cues and metabolic signals. For a long time, attainment of a particular body weight or percentage of body fat has been thought as crucial determinant of puberty onset. However, the precise effect of high-fat (HF) diet on the regulation of hypothalamic GnRH neuron during prepubertal period has not been fully elucidated yet. The present study was undertaken to test the effect of a HF diet on the puberty onset and hypothalamic gene expressions in immature female rats. The HF diet (45% energy from fat, HF group) was applied to female rats from weaning to around puberty onset (postnatal days, PND 22-40). Body weight and vaginal opening (VO) were checked daily during the entire feeding period. In the second experiment, all animals were sacrificed on PND 36 to measure the weights of reproductive tissues. Histological studies were performed to assess the effect of HF diet feeding on the structural alterations in the reproductive tissues. To determine the transcriptional changes of reproductive hormone-related genes in hypothalamus, total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Body weights of HF group animals tend to be higher than those of control animals between PND 22 and PND 31, and significant differences were observed PND 32, PND 34, PND 35 and PND 36 (p<0.05). Advanced VO was shown in the HF group (PND $32.8{\pm}0.37$ p<0.001) compared to the control (PND $38.25{\pm}0.25$). The weight of ovaries (p<0.01) and uteri (p<0.05) from HF group animals significantly increased when compared to those from control animals. Corpora lutea were observed in the ovaries from the HF group animals but not in control ovaries. Similarly, hypertrophy of luminal and glandular uterine epithelia was found only in the HF group animals. In the semi-quantitative RT-PCR studies, the transcriptional activities of KiSS-1 in HF group animals were significantly higher than those from the control animals (p<0.001). Likewise, the mRNA levels of GnRH (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in HF group animals. The present study indicated that the feeding HF diet during the post-weaning period activates the upstream modulators of gonadotropin such as GnRH and KiSS-1 in hypothalamus, resulting early onset of puberty in immature female rats.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제27권10호
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• pp.1097-1103
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• 2017

뱀장어(Anguilla japonica)의 인공종묘생산은 연어뇌하수체추출물(SPE, salmon pituitary extract)을 암컷 뱀장어에게 지속적인 투여를 하고 인위적으로 성성숙을 유도로 얻은 난과 정자를 인공수정을 하고 부화 시켜 생산한다. 하지만 SPE를 반복적으로 복강에 주사하는 방법은 암컷 뱀장어에게 많은 스트레스를 주며, 결국 스트레스로 인하여 완전한 성성숙을 하지 못하고 폐사에 이르게 되거나 배란한 난의 질이 좋지 않아 부화율과 자어의 생존율이 떨어지는 문제점을 갖고 있다. 본 연구에서는 뱀장어의 성성숙 유도에 유효하다고 알려진 호르몬이 주입된 osmotic pump를 복강에 삽입 후 암컷 뱀장어의 성성숙 유도를 하였다. 본 연구결과 SPE를 투여한 실험어의 GSI가 hCG, GnRHa, MT를 각각 또는 함께 투여한 실험구 보다 유의하게 증가하였으며 조직학적 분석결과에서도 난소의 난모세포가 핵이동기 단계로 발달되었음을 관찰할 수 있었다. 본 결과를 통해 osmotic pump를 이용한 암컷 뱀장어 인위적 성성숙 유도 방법으로 이용 가능할 것으로 생각된다.

• 한국동물학회지
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.435-445
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• 1990

시상하부에서 합성, 분비되는 gonadotropin releasing horrnone (GnRH)의 면역반응성이 생식소를 비롯한 여러 부위에서도 검출됨이 알려졌으나, 이 펩타이트가 과연 생식소에서 국부적으로 합성되는 지에 관해서는 아직 밝혀지지 않았다. 본 연구에서는 흰쥐 생식소에서 GnRH유전자발현을 연구하기 위하여 GnRH-like mRNA와 GnRH펩타이트의 발현과 세포내 분포 양상을 조사하였다. GnRH 방사면역측정법과 GnRH를 크로마토그라피 방법으로 분리한 결과,시상하부에서 합성되는 GnRH와 유사한 GnRH 면역반은이 흰쥐 생식소 추출물에서 상당량 검출되었다. GnRH-면역반응이 흰쥐 난소의 다양한 세포군에서 나타냄에 반하여, GnRH-like mRNA는 granulsa,theca 그리고 luteal 세포에서만 주로 발현되었다. 또한 흰쥐 정소에서 GnRH면역반응성은 원시정세포, Sertoli,Leydig 세포에서만 검출된 반면에, GnRH-like mRNA는 정세관내의 Seertoli세포에서만 발현되었다. 따라서 이 연구는 생식소에 존재하는 GnRH는 생식소 내에서 국부적으로 합성, 발현되는 결과라고 사료되며, 생식소 내에서 생성된 GnRH는 생식소내 세포군간의 정보교환의 매개자로서 역활을 수행하고 있다고 추정된다.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.1-5
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• 2005

시상하부-뇌하수체-생식소(HPG) 호르몬 축은 유아기와 아동기에는 작동하지 않다가 사춘기 개시 직전에 활성화되는 흥분성 및 억제성 신호들의 복잡한 중추성 조절 네트워크에 의해 조절된다. 최근 주목받고 있는 kisspeptin은 KiSS-1 유전자의 펩타이드 산물로, 최초 orphan receptor로 클로닝된 G protein-coupled receptor 54(GPR54)의 내인성 리간드이다. KiSS-l은 본래 종양전이억제 유전자로 알려졌으나, 최근의 연구들은 KiSS-1/GPR54 시스템이 생식계의 주요한 조절자임을 시사하고 있다. 비록 생식 관련 호르몬 분비의 신경내분비적 조절에서 KiSS-1/GPR54 시스템의 정확한 역할은 아직 자세히 모르지만, 이 시스템은 생식호르몬 축에서의 일차적인 연결 고리일 수 있다. 중추적(icv) 또는 말초적(sc 또는 ip)으로 kisspeptin을 주사할 경우 시상하부-뇌하수체-생식소 축이 자극되어 혈중 LH 수준이 증가함이 설치류, 양, 원숭이 그리고 인간을 대상으로 한 실험들에서 관찰되었다. 이러한 kisspeptin의 효과는 시상하부 GnRH 신경계를 경유하여 나타나는 것으로 보이지만, 뇌하수체 전엽에 직접 작용할 수도 있다. GPR54 녹아웃 생쥐에서는 사춘기 개시의 소실과 생식소자극호르몬 저하성 생식소 기능저하증(hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, HH)이 나타났다. 따라서 kisspeptin 주사는 인간의 생식계 이상을 치료하기 위한 HPG 축을 활성화시키는 치료에 응용할 수 있을 것이다.