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Plasmalemma vesicle protein-1 (PV-1) is an integral membrane protein associated with endothelial cell caveolae and fenestrae. Since endocrine glands are enriched with fenestrated endothelium, we examined the distribution of PV-1 mRNA and protein in endocrine glands and determined its cellular localization. A single transcript was detected by RT-PCR in all endocrine glands examined. A synthetic peptide was used to generate antibodies for Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Western blotting of membrane fractions from lung, pituitary, adrenal, testis and PV-1-transfected Cos-1 cells revealed a major 65 kDa protein. This protein binds to heparin with high affinity. Using IHC, PV-1 was localized to both endothelial cells of the adrenal zona reticularis and chromaffin cells of the medulla. In the pancreas, PV-1 expression was restricted to a few cells in the islets of Langerhans that partially overlap with somatostatin-positive delta-cells. In both neonatal and adult pituitaries, strong PV-1 immunoreactivity was detected in neural lobe pituicytes in a pattern similar to that of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). PV-1 and GFAP expression was seen in the adult, but not neonatal, intermediate lobe. Endothelial cells throughout the neonatal anterior lobe were PV-1 positive, but PV-1 in the adult was restricted to some endothelial and endocrine cells localized near the margins of lobe. In the adult testis, strong PV-1 expression was seen in germ cells within the seminiferous tubules that varied with the stage of spermatogenesis. In contrast, PV-1 in the neonatal testis was localized to the interstitial cells but not seminiferous tubules. In the ovary, PV-1 was expressed in stromal endothelial cells as well as the thecal layer of developing follicles. Over half the corpus luteal cells were positive for PV-1. Our data have shown that PV-1 is not restricted to endothelial cells but is localized in many types of endocrine and non-endocrine cells. Furthermore, PV-1 expression in the pituitary and testis is developmentally regulated.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial cell mitogen and permeability factor, participates in tumor angiogenesis, but less is known about its regulation or function in normal vascular homeostasis. In the uterus, which undergoes cyclic changes in its vasculature, VEGF is induced by estrogen. Since the pituitary gland contains highly permeable capillaries and is estrogen-responsive, our objectives were to localize VEGF expression within the pituitary and to determine whether it is regulated by estrogen in both the pituitary and the somatolactotrope cell line, GH(3). Ovariectomized rats were injected with estradiol, and pituitaries and uteri were subjected to in situ hybridization or quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). VEGF expression was strong and punctate in the neural lobe, weaker and diffuse in the anterior lobe and undetectable in the intermediate lobe. Two VEGF isoforms, 164 and 120, were detected in all tissues. In the posterior pituitary, VEGF expression was 3- to 6-fold higher than in the anterior pituitary or uterus and was unaltered by estrogen. In contrast, anterior pituitary VEGF was induced by estrogen within 1 h, peaked at 3 h, and returned to basal levels by 24 h. Similar dynamics, albeit 10-fold higher, were seen in the uterus. Translated VEGF proteins were detected by Western blot in both the anterior pituitary and uterus. GH(3) cells also showed a dose- and time-dependent induction of VEGF expression by estrogen. In conclusion: (1) VEGF expression is higher in the neural lobe than in the anterior lobe and is undetectable in the intermediate lobe, (2) the expression of VEGF164 and VEGF120 is rapidly upregulated by estrogen in the anterior pituitary but is unchanged in the posterior pituitary, and (3) the pituitary lactotrope cell line, GH(3), also increases VEGF expression in response to estradiol.