Modification of prolactin receptor (PRL-R) expression by PRL in the mouse liver: estimation of the ratio of two forms of PRL-R mRNAs by "one-sided competitive PCR".
We developed new means of measuring the ratio of the short to the long form (S/L ratio) of the mouse prolactin receptor (mPRL-R) cDNA by PCR using a primer common to the two forms and two specific primers. A means of estimating the amount of mPRL-R cDNA by competitive PCR was also established. We confirmed that these procedures were valid, since the S/L ratio of standard DNA was unaltered by one-sided cPCR amplification under the following conditions: the ratio was between 0.1 and 4, and the amount of cDNA was between 10(3) and 10(7) molecules/tube. The result of one-sided cPCR showed that the short form was dominant in the mouse liver, while the long form was dominant in other tissues. In addition, pituitary grafting increased the S/L ratio in the liver, implying that prolactin down-regulated the functional long form of PRL-R and lowered tissue sensitivity to prolactin itself by modifying the post-transcriptional regulation of PRL-R.
Matsuda
M
M
Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Mori
T
T
D000818:Animals; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D011981:Receptors, Prolactin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011981:Receptors, Prolactin; D011388:Prolactin