Regulation of Pituitary Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Expression and Secretion by Hypothalamic Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone in Chickens.

ABSTRACT: There is increasing evidence that cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide is abundantly expressed in the anterior pituitary of birds and mammals, suggesting that CART peptide may be a novel pituitary hormone and its expression and secretion is likely controlled by the hypothalamic factor(s). To substantiate this hypothesis, using chicken as an animal model, we examined the effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on pituitary CART secretion and expression and investigated whether GnRH could modulate plasma CART levels. The results showed that: (1) chicken GnRH (GnRH1 and GnRH2) could potently stimulate CART peptide secretion in intact pituitaries incubated in vitro, as detected by Western blot; (2) GnRH could also stimulate CART mRNA expression in

SUBMITTER: Mo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6672714 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature