title: The basal function of teleost prolactin as a key regulator on ion uptake identified with zebrafish knockout models.
abstract: Prolactin (PRL) is an anterior pituitary hormone with a broad range of functions. Its ability to stimulate lactogenesis, maternal behavior, growth and development, osmoregulation, and epithelial ion transport has been reported in many vertebrates. In our present study, we have targeted the zebrafish prl locus via transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). Two independent targeted mutant lines with premature termination of the putative sequence of PRL peptides were generated. All prl-deficient zebrafish progeny died at 6-16 days post-fertilization stage (dpf) in egg water. However, the prl-deficient larvae thrived and survived through adulthood in brackish water (5175 mg/L ocean salts), without obvious defects in somatic growth or reproduction. When raised in egg water, the expression levels of certain key Na(+)/Cl(-) cotransporters in the gills and Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase subunits, Na(+)/H(+) exchangers and Na(+)/Cl(-) transporters in the pronephros of prl-deficient larvae were down-regulated at 5 dpf, which caused Na(+)/K(+)/Cl(-) uptake defects in the mutant fish at 6 dpf. Our present results demonstrate that the primary function of zebrafish prl is osmoregulation via governing the uptake and homeostasis of Na(+), K(+) and Cl(-). Our study provides valuable evidence to understand the mechanisms of PRL function better through both phylogenetic and physiological perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Minstry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Center for Human Genome Research, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ziru
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Jiangyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D027321:Anion Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D005880:Gills / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D017136:Ion Transport; D008297:Male; D064587:Osmoregulation; D011388:Prolactin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D027321:Anion Transport Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D011388:Prolactin; D012964:Sodium