11 research outputs found
Ontogeny of the long form of leptin receptor gene expression in the porcine ovarian follicles
Leptin is a polypeptide hormone produced predominantly in adipocytes. It has been found to
be implicated in the regulation of satiety and energy homeostasis. A role for leptin in reproduction
was later suggested by findings that this hormone may be involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic-
pituitary-gonadal axis via endocrine, paracrine and/or autocrine pathways. The objective
of the study was to investigate the ontogeny of the long isoform of leptin receptor (OB-Rb)
gene in porcine ovarian follicles. The expression of OB-Rb gene was detected in porcine primordial,
primary, secondary and antral follicles by in situ hybridization. In summary, our data suggest that
leptin might have a direct effect on porcine follicles and plays an important role in the follicular
development
Expression of proopiomelanocortin, proenkephalin and prodynorphin genes in porcine luteal cells
The objective of the study was to examine the expression of the genes coding for proopiomelanocortin (POMC), proenkephalin (PENK) and prodynorphin (PDYN) in porcine luteal cells isolated from corpora lutea (CL) collected on days 3–6, 8–10 and 13–16 of the oestrous cycle. Total RNA was purified from non-incubated cells and from cells incubated for 48 h in the absence or presence of luteinising hormone (LH). The semi-quantitative RT-PCR technique, involving coamplification of the target and control cDNA (β-actin or 18S rRNA), was used to examine gene expression. It was found that the genes coding for opioid precursors are expressed in both non-incubated and incubated porcine luteal cells representing the early, mid- and late luteal phase. In non-incubated cells, only POMC mRNA content changed during CL development, whereas the expression of PENK and PDYN genes remained relatively constant. Additionally, the treatment of cells with LH markedly affected the expression of POMC and PENK, but no influence on PDYN expression was observed. The present study indicates that porcine luteal cells may produce opioid peptides and that gene expression of their precursors (except for PDYN) may be modulated in these cells by LH. Moreover, the present results support the involvement of opioid peptides in local regulation within the CL of the pig