Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Quantified in Tissues and Slice Explant Cultures of Postnatal Rat Hypothalami

LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) peptide from postnatal rat preoptic area (POA)/hypothalamic tissues in vivo and slice explant cultures maintained in vitro was quantitated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Moreover, messenger RNA (mRNA) copy number was calculated in LHRH neurons maintained in c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Endocrinology (Philadelphia) 1999-02, Vol.140 (2), p.791-799
Main Authors: Maurer, Jennifer A, Wray, Susan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autoradiography
Biosynthesis
Cell culture
Copy number
Gene expression
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone
Histochemistry
Hybridization
Hypothalamus
Luteinizing hormone
Neurons
Peptides
Postpartum period
Preoptic area
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) peptide from postnatal rat preoptic area (POA)/hypothalamic tissues in vivo and slice explant cultures maintained in vitro was quantitated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Moreover, messenger RNA (mRNA) copy number was calculated in LHRH neurons maintained in culture using in situ hybridization histochemistry with autoradiographic film analysis. POA/hypothalami from postnatal day 5–6 pups averaged 1250 pg of LHRH, with approximately 28% of peptide residing within rostral tissues where most LHRH perikarya reside. Explant cultures maintained 18 days in vitro contained 30.4–92.0 pg/slice with a whole animal total of 244.8 pg. Considering cell numbers in vivo and in vitro, LHRH neurons in whole animal produce 1.0 pg of LHRH/cell, whereas those in culture average 2.0 pg/cell. Furthermore, LHRH mRNA copies/cell in organotypic culture was estimated conservatively at 1410 copies/cell, a relatively high number. This work shows that, compared with whole animal, cultures have substantial LHRH stores, indicating maturation of synthetic activity and/or formation of new terminals in vitro. High LHRH mRNA copy number also suggests a high rate of peptide biosynthesis. Our analysis, demonstrating the dynamic potential of LHRH neurons, suggests that subtle changes in LHRH mRNA expression in all cells or a subpopulation can dramatically alter the LHRH system biosynthetic capacity.
ISSN:0013-7227
1945-7170
DOI:10.1210/endo.140.2.6534