title: Prolactin and prolactin receptor expressions in a marine teleost, pufferfish Takifugu rubripes.
abstract: To investigate the physiological significance of prolactin (PRL) in a marine teleost, pufferfish (or fugu), Takifugu rubripes, we cloned and characterized cDNAs encoding its PRL and PRL receptor (PRLR) from the pituitary and gills, respectively. The fugu PRL cDNA consisted of 995 bp and encoded a protein of 213 amino acids. The PRLR, consisting of 510 amino acids, contained a putative signal peptide, an extracellular domain with two pairs of cysteines, a WSXWS motif, a single transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic (intracellular) domain with box 1 and box 2 regions, all of which are characteristic of the cytokine receptor superfamily. Reverse transcription-PCR showed the expression of PRLR mRNA in osmoregulatory organs, such as gills, kidney, and intestine, whereas pufferfish PRL mRNA was detected only in the pituitary. Furthermore, in situ hybridization revealed the expression of pufferfish PRLR in branchial chloride cells, kidney tubule cells, and intestinal epithelia. The PRL-gene expression levels in the pituitary were about five times higher in 25%-diluted seawater than in full-strength seawater. These results suggest that fugu PRL regulates water and electrolyte balances through PRLR expressed in the osmoregulatory organs, as is the case with freshwater-adapted euryhaline species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. biokm@marine.fs.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kyung Mi
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Toyoji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aida
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005880:Gills / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D011388:Prolactin / Q000235:genetics*; D011981:Receptors, Prolactin / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D023741:Takifugu / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D011981:Receptors, Prolactin; D011388:Prolactin