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Expression of a mammalian aquaporin 3 homolog in the anterior pituitary gonadotrophs of the tree frog, Hyla japonica

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Abstract

Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water channel proteins that play a major role in maintaining water homeostasis in various organisms. Several AQPs have been identified in the tree frog, Hyla japonica. Of these, AQP-h3BL, which is expressed in the basolateral membrane of the epithelial cells, is a homolog of mammalian AQP3. Using immunohistochemistry and in situ RT-PCR, we have demonstrated that AQP-h3BL is expressed in the anterior pituitary gonadotrophs of the tree frog but not in the other hormone-producing cells of the anterior pituitary. In gonadotrophs labeled for luteinizing hormone subunit-β (LHβ), AQP-h3BL protein was found to reside in the plasma membrane, the nuclear membrane and the cytoplasm. Double-labeling of AQP-h3BL mRNA and LHβ protein revealed that AQP-h3BL mRNA is expressed in the gonadotrophs. Following stimulation by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the label for AQP-h3BL localized in the plasma membrane became more intense, concomitant with the transport of LHβ-positive materials to the plasma membrane. These developments coincided with a decrease in the labeling density in the cytoplasm and near the nuclear membrane, suggesting that the latter localizations may function as “storage area“ for AQP-h3BL. Immunoelectron microscopy also confirmed these localizations of AQP-h3BL protein. Based on these results, we suggest that AQP-h3BL protein in the frog gonadotrophs is involved in the formation of secretory granules, the swelling and increase in the volume of the granules and exocytosis.

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Acknowledgement

This investigation was supported in part by a grant-in–aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan to S.T.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrated Bioscience Section, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Megumi Sato, Takashi Nakakura, Yuji Ogushi & Shigeyasu Tanaka

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

    Gen Akabane, Masakazu Suzuki & Shigeyasu Tanaka

  3. Department of Histology, The Nippon Dental University School of Dentistry at Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Shingo Kurabuchi

Authors
  1. Megumi Sato
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  2. Takashi Nakakura
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  3. Yuji Ogushi
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  4. Gen Akabane
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  5. Shingo Kurabuchi
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  6. Masakazu Suzuki
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  7. Shigeyasu Tanaka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shigeyasu Tanaka.

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Megumi Sato and Takashi Nakakura contributed equally to this work

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Sato, M., Nakakura, T., Ogushi, Y. et al. Expression of a mammalian aquaporin 3 homolog in the anterior pituitary gonadotrophs of the tree frog, Hyla japonica . Cell Tissue Res 343, 595–603 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-1122-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-1122-1

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