title: Molecular cloning and expression analysis of the turkey vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor.
abstract: Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a prolactin (PRL)-releasing factor whose activity in avian species is believed to be mediated by a specific VIP receptor (VIP-R). Circulating PRL levels are closely related to hypothalamic VIP immunoreactivity, hypothalamic VIP mRNA content, and hypophysial-portal blood VIP concentrations in turkeys. In the present study, a turkey VIP-R (tVIP-R) cDNA was cloned and its mRNA abundance was quantified in various tissues during different reproductive stages. The 2347-bp tVIP-R cDNA encoded a 457 amino acid protein, with a predicted Mr of 52 kDa. The full-length cDNA shares approximately 55% similarity with the mammalian VIP receptor-1. Northern blot analysis revealed that a major 2.7-kb transcript was expressed in laying hen pituitaries. Furthermore, two minor tVIP-R transcripts of 3.7 and 3.4 kb were observed. Semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using RNA from various turkey brain and peripheral tissues throughout the reproductive cycle. The steady-state levels of pituitary tVIP-R mRNA changed during the reproductive cycle, whereas mRNA expression in other tissues was not affected. The steady-state levels of tVIP-R mRNA were only affected in the pituitary, whereas mRNA expression in any of the other tissues examined following the immunization of turkeys against VIP were not affected.
authors.affiliation: School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Suwon 441-744, Korea.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kho
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: El Halawani
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D015723:Gene Library; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014422:Turkeys / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D011388:Prolactin