title: Association of estradiol on expression of melanocortin receptors and their accessory proteins in the liver of chicken (Gallus gallus).
abstract: The melanocortin receptor accessory proteins (MRAP and MRAP2) are small single-pass transmembrane proteins that regulate the biological functions of the melanocortin receptor (MCR) family. MCRs comprise five receptors (MC1R-MC5R) with diverse physiological roles in mammals. Five MCR members and two MRAPs were also predicted in the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome. However, little is known about their expression, regulation and biological functions. In this study, we cloned the MRAP and MRAP2 genes. Sequencing analysis revealed that the functional domains of MRAP and MRAP2 were conserved among species, suggesting that the physiological roles of chicken MRAP and MRAP2 could be similar to their mammalian counterparts. Tissue expression analysis demonstrated that MRAP was expressed in the adrenal gland, liver, spleen, glandular stomach and lungs, while MRAP2 is predominantly expressed in the adrenal gland. All five MCRs were present in the adrenal gland, but showed different expression patterns in other tissues. The MC5R was the only MCR member that was expressed in the chicken liver. The expression levels of MRAP in chicken liver were significantly increased at sexual maturity stage, and were significantly up-regulated (P<0.05) when chickens and chicken primary hepatocytes were treated with 17β-estradiol in vivo and in vitro, respectively; however, expression levels of PPARγ were down-regulated, and no effect on MC5R was observed. Our results suggested that estrogen could stimulate the expression of MRAP in the liver of chicken through inhibiting the expression of transcription regulation factor PPARγ, and MRAP might play its biological role in a different way rather than forming an MRAP/MC2R complex in chicken liver during the egg-laying period.
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Junxiao
authors: J
authors: Ren
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Yanmin
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Naiyi
authors: N
authors: Xu
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Cuicui
authors: C
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Ruili
authors: R
authors: Han
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Yanbin
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Zhuanjian
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
authors: Xiangtao
authors: X
authors: Kang
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China. Electronic address: xjliu2008@hotmail.com.
authors: Xiaojun
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China. Electronic address: ydtian111@163.com.
authors: Yadong
authors: Y
authors: Tian
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D044103:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044101:Receptors, Melanocortin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014018:Tissue Distribution / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D047495:PPAR gamma; D044103:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 2; D044101:Receptors, Melanocortin; D004958:Estradiol
keywords: 17β-Estradiol; Chicken; Melanocortin receptor accessory proteins; Melanocortin receptors