Abstract
Prolactin (PRL) has numerous actions in mammalian biological systems including mammary development and biological processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal changes of prolactin receptor (PRLR) expression in the scented gland of muskrat during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Histologically, glandular cells, interstitial cells and excretory tubules were identified in the scented glands in both seasons, whereas epithelial cells were sparse in the nonbreeding season. PRLR was observed in glandular cells of scented glands during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons with stronger immunostaining during the breeding season. Consistent with the immunohistochemical results, both the mean of protein and mRNA levels of PRLR were higher in the scented glands of the breeding season, and relatively lower level in the nonbreeding season. In addition, differential seasonal changes were also detected in the expression profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the scented gland of muskrat. Besides, plasma PRL concentration was remarkably higher in the breeding season than that in the nonbreeding season. These results suggested that muskrat scented gland was the direct target organ of PRL, and stronger expression of PRLR in scented glands during the breeding season indicated that PRL may directly regulate scented glandular function of the muskrats.
Highlights
PRL mediates its physiologic functions through the engagement of prolactin receptor (PRLR), a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily
Interstitial cells and epithelial cells of the excretory duct were observed in the scented glands of male muskrats both during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons (Fig. 1a,b), which was in accordance with our previous studies[19,21]
Our results demonstrated that immunoreactivities of PRLR was higher in muskrat scented glands of the breeding season when compared to that in the nonbreeding season
Summary
PRL mediates its physiologic functions through the engagement of prolactin receptor (PRLR), a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily. Multiple isoforms of membrane-bound PRLR resulting from alternative splicing of the primary transcript have been identified[3]. Our previous studies showed that as the target organ of androgens and estrogens, scented glands of the muskrats are capable of synthesizing androgens, estrogens as well as inhibins during the breeding season, which may play important autocrine or paracrine roles in mediating scented gland function[17,21,22]. We investigated PRLR expression and localization as well as expression profile of miRNAs of the scented gland of muskrats during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons, to gain insight into the relationship of PRL and PRLR with regard to scented gland function of muskrats
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