Abstract

The present study was undertaken to examine the developmental pattern of GH receptor (GHR) and GHR gene expression in skeletal muscle (longissimus dorsi and trapezius (TR)) and liver from the last third of gestation until 1 year of age in male Large White (LW) and Meishan (MS) pigs. Plasma GH-binding protein (GHBP) levels were also measured. ¹²⁵I-Labelled bovine GH (bGH) specific binding (not determined in foetal TR) and GHR mRNA were detected in skeletal muscle from 75 days of gestation until the adult stage with no clear age-related changes. By contrast, ¹²⁵I-labelled bGH specific binding and GHR mRNA were undetectable or barely detectable in foetal liver. After birth, ¹²⁵I-labelled bGH specific binding (P<0·001) and GHR mRNA in liver increased with age. The level of bGH binding to liver membranes was higher in MS than in LW pigs at 1, 45, 80 and 120 days of age and did not differ between breeds at the other ages. Specific binding of ¹²⁵I-labelled human GH (hGH) to plasma GHBP was easily detected as early as 75 days of gestation and increased with age (P<0·001). The level of hGH binding to plasma GHBP was higher in MS than in LW pigs at 1, 80 and 120 days of age. It can be concluded that (1) the developmental expression of the GHR is tissue-specific, (2) the presence of GHBP in foetuses despite the absence of GHR in liver suggests that other tissues such as skeletal muscle could contribute to the generation of GHBP and (3) the presence of GHR in skeletal muscle as early as 75 days of gestation suggests that GH may play a role in foetal muscle growth.

Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 148, 249–255

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between genetic selection for growth traits and tissue expression of the chicken growth hormone receptor (cGHR) gene. Two different populations of broiler chickens were studied. One population consisted of strain (S) 80, selected for 14 generations for high 9-week body weight (BW), and its progenitor, S90 (a 1950's strain). The second population consisted of S21, selected for 10 generations for high 4-week BW and low abdominal fat, and its progenitor S20 (a 1970's strain). Tissue (liver, fat, breast and leg muscle) and blood samples were collected from six birds/strain at 2-week intervals between 1 and 11 weeks of age. An RNase protection assay was developed to measure mRNA levels of full-length cGHR (3.2 and 4.3 kb) transcripts and chicken glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (for normalization) in total RNA prepared from tissue. Analysis of the area-under-curve (AUC) was used for strain comparisons of certain developmental profiles (BW, plasma hormones and tissue cGHR mRNA). The BW AUC showed that the growth rates are different (P < 0.05) among the four strains (S21 > S20 > S80 > S90). Both slow-growing strains (S90 and S80) had a higher (P < 0.05) plasma GH AUC than the two fast-growing strains (S20 and S21). The plasma T3 AUC was highest (P < 0.05) in S90 due to maintenance of higher T3 levels after 3 weeks of age. At 11 weeks of age, hepatic and plasma GH-binding activities were positively related to growth rate (S21 > S20 > S80 > S90). However, the developmental increase in cGHR mRNA in liver and fat was similar among these different populations of growth-selected broiler chickens. Steady-state levels of cGHR mRNA increased in a developmental manner in the liver (5-fold at 9 weeks of age) and abdominal fat (4.5-fold at 11 weeks of age) of all strains. In contrast, there was no developmental increase or strain difference in cGHR mRNA levels in breast and leg muscle. There is a discrepancy between GH-binding activity in liver and plasma, which is different among strains, and steady-state levels of tissue cGHR mRNA which are similar among strains. These observations suggest that the cGHR is under translational or post-translational regulation which would determine the amount of cGHR protein available for GH binding.

Abstract

The red deer is a seasonally breeding mammal with a circannual cycle of prolactin secretion which reaches its peak during the non-breeding season. This study investigated expression of the prolactin receptor gene in red deer tissues collected in the breeding and non-breeding seasons. A 562 bp fragment of the extracellular domain of the red deer prolactin receptor cDNA was amplified from red deer liver poly(A)⁺ RNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers designed from the human sequence. Northern blots were prepared using 10–20 μg poly(A)⁺ RNA. The blots were hybridized to the 562 bp cDNA labelled by random priming with α³²P-dCTP. A main transcript of 3·5 kb was expressed in liver, heart, kidney and testis throughout the year and in epididymis during the breeding season only. In the testis an additional major transcript of 1·7 kb was present during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Competitive binding assays using ¹²⁵I-ovine prolactin (¹²⁵I-oPRL) were performed on microsomal membrane fractions prepared from liver. Scatchard analyses confirmed the presence of a single class of lactogen-binding receptor with a mean K_a of 0·87 ± 0·12 × 10⁹ m ⁻¹ and a B_max of 73·6 ± 9·8 fmol/mg protein (n=5). Cross-linking of ¹²⁵I-oPRL to liver microsomes with 0·5 mm disuccinimidyl suberate followed by SDS-PAGE revealed a major band of molecular mass 56 kDa which was displaced by ovine prolactin, suggesting a specific lactogen-binding entity of 33 kDa. This study confirms the expression of the red deer prolactin receptor gene throughout the year, characterizes the prevalent form of receptor in the liver and demonstrates the expression of a separate, short form in the testis.

Journal of Endocrinology (1995) 146, 313–321