Journal article
Potent action of RFamide-related peptide-3 on pituitary gonadotropes indicative of a hypophysiotropic role in the negative regulation of gonadotropin secretion
IJ Clarke, IP Sari, Y Qi, JT Smith, HC Parkington, T Ubuka, J Iqbal, Q Li, A Tilbrook, K Morgan, AJ Pawson, K Tsutsui, RP Millar, GE Bentley
Endocrinology | ENDOCRINE SOC | Published : 2008
DOI: 10.1210/en.2008-0575
Abstract
We identified a gene in the ovine hypothalamus encoding for RFamide-related peptide-3 (RFRP-3), and tested the hypothesis that this system produces a hypophysiotropic hormone that inhibits the function of pituitary gonadotropes. The RFRP-3 gene encodes for a peptide that appears identical to human RFRP-3 homolog. Using an antiserum raised against RFRP-3, cells were localized to the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus/paraventricular nucleus of the ovine brain and shown to project to the neurosecretory zone of the ovine median eminence, predicating a role for this peptide in the regulation of anterior pituitary gland function. Ovine RFRP-3 peptide was tested for biological activity in vitro and ..
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Awarded by Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Alix Rao, Alda Pereira, Bruce Doughton, and Lynda Morrish for technical support, and National Institutes of Health for assay reagents.Received April 22, 2008. Accepted June 30, 2008.Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Professor Iain Clarke, Department Physiology, Building 13F, Monash University, Clayton Victoria 3800, Australia. E-mail: iain.clarke@med.monash.edu.au.The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (IOB-0641188) and University California, Berkeley (to G. E. B.), and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan (16086206 and 18107002) (to K. T.). J.T.S. is supported by Monash University Strategic Grant ECD003.Disclosure Statement: The authors have nothing to disclose.