Differential production and regulation of gonadotropins (GTH I and GTH II) in the pituitary gland of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, during ovarian development

Abstract

Biosynthesis of salmon gonadotropins, GTH I and GTH II, during ovarian development, were examined by means of in situ hybridization histochemistry and indirect immunocytochemistry. In rainbow trout pituitary glands, expression of GTH Iβ- and IIβ-subunit genes appeared separately in distinct cells (GTH I- and GTH II-cells), whereas the GTH α-subunit gene was expressed in both cell-types. In the GTH I-cells, coordinated increases in GTh, α and Iβ messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs) occurred coincident with the onset of vitellogenesis, indicating active synthesis of GTH I during vitellogenesis. In contrast, in the GTH II-cells, both GTH α-and IIβ-mRNA signals markedly increased from a later stage of vitellogenesis and persisted throughout oocyte maturation and ovulation, supporting the idea that GTH II is actively synthesized as a maturational GTH. GTH α-mRNA levels in the GTH I-cells selectively decreased prior to final oocyte maturation, although Iβ-mRNA levels remained elevated, thus suggesting a decline of biosynthesis of GTH I after vitellogenesis. These findings clarify how the synthesis of GTH I and GTH II are coordinated in the piscine pituitary, and indicate that the expression of GTH subunit genes during gametogenesis is regulated differentially in a cell-specific manner, both temporally and spatially.