Guerriero G, Ciarcia G
Department of Zoology, Federico II University, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134, Naples, Italy.
Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2001 Nov;37(1-3):172-7. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0173(01)00117-5.
Steroids secreted by the ovary, specifically estrogen and progesterone, influence the expression of behaviors associated with reproduction by interacting with a specific binding protein, or receptor, located in target cells in certain hypothalamic nuclei. The present paper reviews the progesterone receptor studies in the vertebrates brain, the progesterone receptor fluctuations throughout the reproductive cycle and suggests a role for progesterone receptors in the regulation of hypothalamic functions in amphibians. Furthermore, we report here a combined biochemical and immunohistochemical analysis of the hypothalamic progesterone receptor during the reproductive cycle of a lower vertebrate, the female amphibian anura Rana esculenta. 3H-Progesterone binding activity was found in both cytosol and nuclear extract samples. The progesterone binding moiety showed typical characteristics of a true receptor, such as high affinity, low capacity and specificity for progesterone. Further characterization was performed by using monoclonal antiserum raised against both the subunits A and B of the chicken progesterone receptor. Immunostained neurons were located mainly in two specific regions of the hypothalamus: the preoptic area and the infundibular hypothalamus. An immunoreactive band of about 67 kDa was observed using Western blotting, both in the cytosol and in the nuclear extract. Progesterone receptor levels fluctuated throughout the cycle along with plasma steroids and vitellogenin synthesis.
卵巢分泌的类固醇，特别是雌激素和孕酮，通过与位于某些下丘脑核靶细胞中的特定结合蛋白或受体相互作用，影响与生殖相关行为的表达。本文综述了脊椎动物大脑中的孕酮受体研究、整个生殖周期中孕酮受体的波动情况，并提出孕酮受体在两栖动物下丘脑功能调节中的作用。此外，我们在此报告了对一种低等脊椎动物——雌性两栖无尾蛙食用蛙生殖周期中下丘脑孕酮受体的生化和免疫组织化学联合分析。在胞质溶胶和核提取物样品中均发现了3H-孕酮结合活性。孕酮结合部分表现出真正受体的典型特征，如对孕酮的高亲和力、低容量和特异性。通过使用针对鸡孕酮受体A和B亚基产生的单克隆抗血清进行了进一步的表征。免疫染色的神经元主要位于下丘脑的两个特定区域：视前区和漏斗下丘脑。使用蛋白质印迹法在胞质溶胶和核提取物中均观察到一条约67 kDa的免疫反应条带。孕酮受体水平在整个周期中随着血浆类固醇和卵黄蛋白原合成而波动。
