Seasonal Expression of Gonadotropin Genes in the Pituitary and Testes of Male Plateau Zokor ()

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2022 Mar 25

PMID 35327122

Authors

Kang An

Baohui Yao

Yukun Kang

Mingfang Bao

Yuchen Tan

Qiangsheng Pu

Junhu Su

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), are glycoprotein hormones in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and regulate mammalian reproduction. The expression of these genes in the plateau zokor () is poorly understood. We characterized the immunolocalization of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) and follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) in the testes and evaluated the positive immunohistochemical results and the relative mRNA expression of gonadotropin genes. During the non-breeding season (September), the relative testes weight and the seminiferous tubule diameter were significantly reduced. All germ cell types were observed during the breeding season (May), whereas only spermatogonia were observed during the non-breeding season. LHR was present in the Leydig cells whereas FSHR was present in the Sertoli cells. The mean optical density was higher during the breeding season. The mRNA expression of and was lower in the pituitary but and genes expression were higher in the testes during the breeding season. These data elucidate the expression of gonadotropin genes in the HPG axis of the male plateau zokor and suggest that gonadotropins play a vital role in the regulation of seasonal breeding.

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