Identification of thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor messenger RNA in the rat central nervous system and eye.
TRH exerts a wide variety of neuropharmacological actions by interacting with specific receptors in the central nervous system (CNS). Specific binding sites for TRH have been identified also in the mammalian retina. However, whether TRH receptors (TRH-R) in the brain and retina are identical in structure with those in the anterior pituitary gland is presently unknown. In this study, TRH-R gene expression was examined by Northern blot analysis in the CNS and eye using a cloned rat pituitary TRH-R cDNA. Northern analysis demonstrated a specific hybridization band of approximately 3.8 kb in hypothalamus, cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, spinal cord, and eye, indistinguishable from that characterized in pituitary gland. These data strongly support the hypothesis that a TRH receptor similar or identical to that cloned from the pituitary occurs in the retina and throughout the CNS.
Satoh
T
T
Division of Endocrinology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21201.
Feng
P
P
Kim
U J
UJ
Wilber
J F
JF
D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005123:Eye / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D011061:Poly A / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018025:Receptors, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism*; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D018025:Receptors, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D011061:Poly A; D013973:Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D012313:RNA