title: Age-related changes in growth hormone-immunoreactive cells in the anterior pituitary gland of Jcl: Wistar-TgN (ARGHGEN) 1Nts rats (Mini rats).
abstract: Rats of the Jcl: Wistar-TgN (ARGHGEN) 1Nts strain (Mini rats) are transgenic animals carrying an antisense RNA transgene for rat growth hormone (GH); they show poor somatic growth and a low blood GH level compared to age-matched wild-type Wistar (non-Mini) rats. The purpose of the present study was to investigate age-related changes in growth hormone-immunoreactive (GH-IR) cells in the anterior pituitary gland (AP) of Mini rats at four, six, and eight weeks of age. The body weight and size of the GH-IR cells of Mini rats was significantly lower than that of non-Mini rats at six and eight weeks of age; however, this difference was not observed at four weeks of age. The AP volume and the number of GH-IR cells in Mini rats were significantly smaller than those of the age-matched non-Mini rats at the three ages. These results suggest that the abnormal development of GH-IR cells in the AP induced by the GH antisense RNA transgene is responsible for the poor somatic growth and the low blood GH levels in Mini rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Kyoung-Youl
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Irawan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Satriotomo
authors.forename: Hong-Peng
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Zhi-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karasawa
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D016372:RNA, Antisense; D013006:Growth Hormone