Department of Laboratory Animals, College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Model, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Genes (Basel). 2023 Mar 31;14(4):846. doi: 10.3390/genes14040846.
The pituitary gland is a key participant in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, as it secretes a variety of hormones and plays an important role in mammalian reproduction. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone(GnRH) signaling molecules can bind to GnRH receptors on the surfaces of adenohypophysis gonadotropin cells and regulate the expression of follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH) and luteinizing hormone(LH) through various pathways. An increasing number of studies have shown that noncoding RNAs mediate the regulation of GnRH signaling molecules in the adenohypophysis. However, the expression changes and underlying mechanisms of genes and noncoding RNAs in the adenohypophysis under the action of GnRH remain unclear. In the present study, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of the rat adenohypophysis before and after GnRH treatment to identify differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs. We found 385 mRNAs, 704 lncRNAs, and 20 miRNAs that were significantly differentially expressed in the rat adenohypophysis. Then, we used a software to predict the regulatory roles of lncRNAs as molecular sponges that compete with mRNAs to bind miRNAs, and construct a GnRH-mediated ceRNA regulatory network. Finally, we enriched the differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNA target genes, and ceRNA regulatory networks to analyze their potential roles. Based on the sequencing results, we verified that GnRH could affect FSH synthesis and secretion by promoting the competitive binding of lncRNA-m23b to miR-23b-3p to regulate the expression of Calcium/Calmodulin Dependent Protein Kinase II Delta(CAMK2D). Our findings provide strong data to support exploration of the physiological processes in the rat adenohypophysis under the action of GnRH. Furthermore, our profile of lncRNA expression in the rat adenohypophysis provides a theoretical basis for research on the roles of lncRNAs in the adenohypophysis.
垂体是下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴的关键参与者，因为它分泌多种激素，在哺乳动物生殖中发挥重要作用。促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）信号分子可以与腺垂体促性腺激素细胞表面的 GnRH 受体结合，并通过各种途径调节卵泡刺激素（FSH）和黄体生成素（LH）的表达。越来越多的研究表明，非编码 RNA 介导 GnRH 信号分子在腺垂体中的调节。然而，GnRH 作用下腺垂体中基因和非编码 RNA 的表达变化及其潜在机制尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们对 GnRH 处理前后大鼠腺垂体进行了 RNA 测序（RNA-seq），以鉴定差异表达的 mRNA、lncRNA 和 miRNA。我们发现大鼠腺垂体中有 385 个 mRNA、704 个 lncRNA 和 20 个 miRNA 表达显著差异。然后，我们使用软件预测 lncRNA 作为分子海绵的调控作用，与 mRNA 竞争结合 miRNA，并构建 GnRH 介导的 ceRNA 调控网络。最后，我们富集了差异表达的 mRNA、lncRNA 靶基因和 ceRNA 调控网络，以分析它们的潜在作用。基于测序结果，我们验证了 GnRH 通过促进 lncRNA-m23b 与 miR-23b-3p 的竞争性结合，调节钙/钙调蛋白依赖性蛋白激酶 II 德尔塔（CAMK2D）的表达，从而影响 FSH 的合成和分泌。我们的研究结果为探索 GnRH 作用下大鼠腺垂体的生理过程提供了有力的数据支持。此外，我们对大鼠腺垂体中 lncRNA 表达的分析为研究 lncRNA 在腺垂体中的作用提供了理论基础。
