Zhang Z-C, Xiao L-H, Wang Y, Chen S-Y, Yang Z-Q, Zhao X-L, Zhu Q, Liu Y-P
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, Sichuan, China.
Genet Mol Res. 2012 Sep 26;11(3):3482-9. doi: 10.4238/2012.September.26.3.
Calmodulin (CALM), a calcium-binding protein, is expressed in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis; it plays a pivotal role in the reproductive system by regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone signaling. Downstream of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal signaling pathways, liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is involved in female gonadal hormone synthesis. In the chicken, although the two genes are known to be associated with reproductive traits, the interaction between gonadotropins and gonadal steroids remains unclear. We used quantitative real-time PCR to quantify the tissular (hypothalamus, pituitary, ovary, liver, kidney, oviduct, heart) and ontogenetic (12, 18, 32, and 45 weeks) mRNA expression profiles of CALM and LRH-1 in Erlang Mountainous chickens to determine their roles in the endocrine control of fertility, and compared these profiles with expression in Roman chickens. We found that the relative expressions of CALM and LRH-1 genes had the highest levels in the pituitary and ovary at 32 weeks. The expression level of CALM mRNA in the pituitary of Roman chickens was significantly higher than that in Erlang Mountainous chickens at 32 and 45 weeks, while the LRH-1 transcript level in the ovaries of Roman chickens was significantly lower than that of Erlang Mountainous chickens at 32 and 45 weeks. In summary, the transcript levels of CALM and LRH-1 genes are associated with chicken reproductive traits; in addition, we found that the CALM gene is the key regulator in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal signaling network.
钙调蛋白（CALM）是一种钙结合蛋白，在下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴中表达；它通过调节促性腺激素释放激素信号传导在生殖系统中发挥关键作用。在丘脑-垂体-性腺信号通路的下游，肝脏受体同源物-1（LRH-1）参与雌性性腺激素的合成。在鸡中，虽然已知这两个基因与繁殖性状相关，但促性腺激素和性腺类固醇之间的相互作用仍不清楚。我们使用定量实时PCR来量化二郎山鸡中CALM和LRH-1的组织（下丘脑、垂体、卵巢、肝脏、肾脏、输卵管、心脏）和个体发育（12、18、32和45周）的mRNA表达谱，以确定它们在生育内分泌控制中的作用，并将这些表达谱与罗曼鸡的表达进行比较。我们发现，CALM和LRH-1基因的相对表达在32周时在垂体和卵巢中水平最高。在32周和45周时，罗曼鸡垂体中CALM mRNA的表达水平显著高于二郎山鸡，而在32周和45周时，罗曼鸡卵巢中LRH-1转录本水平显著低于二郎山鸡。总之，CALM和LRH-1基因的转录水平与鸡的繁殖性状相关；此外，我们发现CALM基因是下丘脑-垂体-性腺信号网络中的关键调节因子。
