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The spatial and temporal expression of delta-like protein 1 in the rat pituitary gland during development

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Abstract

An analysis of secreted proteins by the signal sequence trap method using a cDNA library of the rat pituitary anlage at embryonic days (E) 13.5 revealed the abundant expression of delta-like protein 1 (Dlk1) in the pituitary gland. Dlk1, an epidermal growth factor-like repeat protein in preadipocytes, functions in maintaining the preadipose state. Expression of Dlk1 mRNA in the pituitary at E13.5 and in the adult pituitary was confirmed by in situ hybridization. The expression pattern of Dlk1 during pituitary development was also studied by immunohistochemistry. Dlk1 protein first appeared in Rathke’s pouch and the infundibulum at E11.5; as development proceeded, expression became restricted to the pars distalis and pars tuberalis (PT). Dlk1 was expressed in most ACTH cells during the embryonic stages, but its expression was limited to only a few ACTH cells in the adult pituitary. It was also expressed in a small population of TSH, GTH, and PRL cells throughout development, whereas it was present in the cytoplasm of most GH cells at all developmental stages. Similarly, Dlk1 was localized in the cytoplasm of PT cells during development. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of Dlk1 regarding its regulation of pituitary hormone-secreting cells during development.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Professor Toshio Kitamura, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo for his gift of vectors and cells and advice on the signal sequence trap method. We also thank Professor Hideaki Tanaka, Kumatoto University for stimulating and helpful discussion. This work was supported in part by a grant-in-aid for science research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan (to S.T.) and in a grant-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (to T.N).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrated Bioscience Section, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Takashi Nakakura & Shigeyasu Tanaka

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Misa Sato, Masakazu Suzuki & Shigeyasu Tanaka

  3. Department of Anatomy, Nara Medical University, School of Medicine, Kashihara, 634-8521, Japan

    Osamu Hatano

  4. Laboratory of Cell Signaling and Metabolism, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Osaka, 567-0085, Japan

    Hiroshi Takemori

  5. Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyoku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Yukio Taniguchi & Yukinori Minoshima

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  1. Takashi Nakakura
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  2. Misa Sato
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  3. Masakazu Suzuki
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Correspondence to Shigeyasu Tanaka.

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Nakakura, T., Sato, M., Suzuki, M. et al. The spatial and temporal expression of delta-like protein 1 in the rat pituitary gland during development. Histochem Cell Biol 131, 141–153 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-008-0494-8

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