title: Expression pattern of zebrafish rxfp2 homologue genes during embryonic development.
abstract: RXFP2 is one of the 4 receptors for relaxin insulin-like peptides, in particular it binds with high affinity the INSL3 peptide. INSL3/RXFP2 pair is essential for testicular descent during placental mammalian development. The evolutionary history of this ligand/receptor pair has received much attention, since its function in vertebrate species lacking testicular descent, such as the fishes, remains elusive. Herein, we analyzed the expression pattern of three rxfp2 homologue genes in zebrafish embryonic development. For all the three rxfp2 genes (rxfp2a, rxfp2b, and rxfp2-like) we showed the presence of maternally derived transcripts. Later in the development, rxfp2a is only expressed at larval stage, whereas rxfp2b is expressed in all the analyzed stage with highest level in the larvae. The rxfp2-like gene is expressed in all the analyzed stage with a transcript level that increased starting at early pharyngula stage. The spatial localization analysis of rxfp2-like gene showed that it is expressed in many cell clusters in the developing brain. In addition, other rxfp2-like-expressing cells were identified in the retina and oral epithelium. This analysis provides new insights to elucidate the evolution of rxfp2 genes in vertebrate lineage and lays the foundations to study their role in vertebrate embryonic development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Donizetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiengo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Del Gaudio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Iazzetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pariante
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aniello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; C511608:Rxfp2 protein, rat