Second Gene for Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone in Humans

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide widely known for its role in regulating reproduction by serving as a signal from the hypothalamus to pituitary gonadotropes. In addition to hypothalamic GnRH (GnRH-I), a second GnRH form (pGln-His-Trp-Ser-His-Gly-Trp-Tyr-Pro-Gly; GnRH-II) with u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1998-01, Vol.95 (1), p.305-309
Main Authors: White, Richard B., Eisen, Jonathan A., Kasten, Thomas L., Fernald, Russell D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Animals
Biological Sciences
Biological taxonomies
Chromosome Mapping
Complementary DNA
Evolution
Exons
Genes
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone - analogs & derivatives
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone - genetics
Hormones
Humans
Introns
Kidneys
Medical research
Messenger RNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA
Vertebrates
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Summary:Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide widely known for its role in regulating reproduction by serving as a signal from the hypothalamus to pituitary gonadotropes. In addition to hypothalamic GnRH (GnRH-I), a second GnRH form (pGln-His-Trp-Ser-His-Gly-Trp-Tyr-Pro-Gly; GnRH-II) with unknown function has been localized to the midbrain of many vertebrates. We show here that a gene encoding GnRH-II is expressed in humans and is located on chromosome 20p13, distinct from the GnRH-I gene that is on 8p21-p11.2. The GnRH-II genomic and mRNA structures parallel those of GnRH-I. However, in contrast to GnRH-I, GnRH-II is expressed at significantly higher levels outside the brain (up to 30× ), particularly in the kidney, bone marrow, and prostate. The widespread expression of GnRH-II suggests it may have multiple functions. Molecular phylogenetic analysis shows that this second gene is likely the result of a duplication before the appearance of vertebrates, and predicts the existence of a third GnRH form in humans and other vertebrates.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.95.1.305