Ubiquitous expression of myostatin in chicken embryonic tissues: its high expression in testis and ovary.
The skeletal muscle of mammals is known to express myostatin (GDF-8) that acts as a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. However, the function of GDF-8 is not limited to skeletal muscle, because of its ubiquitous expression in fish. Here we investigated whether GDF-8 is expressed in various tissues including gonads during chicken embryogenesis. As revealed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, the transcript and protein for GDF-8 were detected in brain, eye, gizzard, muscle, heart, small gut, large gut, mesonephroi, testis and ovary of chicken embryos at E12, but not in liver. GDF-8 was constitutively expressed in testis and ovary as well as muscle at E6-E21, as demonstrated by in situ hybridization on section and whole-mount. Some cell population in testis, but not identified, highly expressed GDF-8. On the other hand, the medulla and germinal epithelium of ovary highly expressed it. Collectively, these results indicate that GDF-8 is ubiquitously expressed in various tissues of chicken embryos including testis and ovary through the stage of embryogenesis.
Kubota
Kaiyu
K
Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology and Biotechnology, Department of Animal and Marine Bioresource Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
Sato
Fuminori
F
Aramaki
Shinya
S
Soh
Tomoki
T
Yamauchi
Nobuhiko
N
Hattori
Masa-aki
MA
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005865:Gestational Age; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D055435:Myostatin; D010053:Ovary / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013737:Testis / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D055435:Myostatin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta