UMR 6175 INRA/CNRS/Université de Tours/Haras Nationaux, Nouzilly, France.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2010 Oct;22(10):1101-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2010.02053.x.
Kisspeptins are a family of small peptides that play a key role in the neuroendocrine regulation of the reproductive function through neural pathways that have not yet been completely identified. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution of kisspeptin neurone fibres in the female rat brain by comparing precisely the immunoreactive pattern obtained with two antibodies: one specifically directed against kisspeptin-52 (Kp-52), the longest isoform, and the other directed against kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10), whose sequence is common to all putative mature isoforms. With both antibodies, immunoreactive cell bodies were exclusively observed in the arcuate nucleus, and immunoreactive fibres were confined to the septo-preoptico-hypothalamic continuum of the brain. Fibres were observed in the preoptic area, the diagonal band of Broca, the septohypothalamic area, the anteroventral periventricular, suprachiasmatic, supraoptic, paraventricular and periventricular nuclei, the dorsal border of the ventromedian nucleus, the dorsomedial and arcuate nuclei, and the median eminence. In the latter structure, varicose fibres were mainly distributed in the internal layer and were detected to a lesser extent throughout the external layer, including around the deeper part of the infundibular recess. Most regions of immunoreactive cells and fibres matched perfectly for the two antibodies. However, fibres in the dorsolateral septum, anterior fornix, accumbens nucleus and the lateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis were only recognised by antibody anti-Kp-10, suggesting that anti-Kp-10 may recognise a wider range of kisspeptin isoforms than anti-Kp-52 or cross-react with molecules other than kisspeptin in rat tissue. Overall, these results illustrate the variety of projection sites of kisspeptin neurones in the rat and suggest that these peptides play a role in different functions.
Kisspeptins 是一类小肽，通过尚未完全确定的神经通路在生殖功能的神经内分泌调节中发挥关键作用。本研究旨在通过比较两种抗体的免疫反应模式来研究 kisspeptin 神经元纤维在雌性大鼠大脑中的分布：一种抗体特异性针对 kisspeptin-52（Kp-52），即最长的同工型，另一种抗体特异性针对 kisspeptin-10（Kp-10），其序列与所有假定的成熟同工型都相同。使用这两种抗体，免疫反应性细胞体仅在弓状核中观察到，而免疫反应性纤维局限于脑的隔-前-下丘脑连续体。纤维在前脑区域、Broca 斜带、隔下丘脑区域、前腹侧室周、视交叉上核、视上核、室旁核和室周核、腹内侧核的背边界、背内侧核和弓状核以及正中隆起中观察到。在后一种结构中，曲张纤维主要分布在内层，在外层也有少量分布，包括围绕漏斗隐窝较深部分。两种抗体的免疫反应性细胞和纤维的大多数区域完全匹配。然而，在外侧隔、前连合、伏隔核和终纹外侧床核中的纤维仅被抗 Kp-10 抗体识别，这表明抗 Kp-10 可能识别比抗 Kp-52 更广泛的 kisspeptin 同工型，或者在大鼠组织中与 kisspeptin 以外的分子交叉反应。总的来说，这些结果说明了 kisspeptin 神经元在大鼠中的投射部位的多样性，并表明这些肽在不同的功能中发挥作用。
