1. Proopiomelanocortin-Derived Peptides in Testis, Ovary, and Tissues of Reproduction
- Author
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C W Bardin, Patricia L. Morris, C. L. C. Chen, C. Boitani, A. N. Margioris, Anthony S. Liotta, Dorothy T. Krieger, and I. Gerendai
- Subjects
endocrine system ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pituitary gland ,biology ,Human chorionic gonadotropin ,Gonadotropin secretion ,Paracrine signalling ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Endocrinology ,Proopiomelanocortin ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,biology.protein ,Autocrine signalling ,hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists ,Testosterone ,Hormone - Abstract
Publisher Summary Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides act as paracrine and autocrine regulators of Sertoli and Leydig cells, respectively. Proopiomelanocortin is a precursor molecule that gives rise to multiple peptides that appear to have been used throughout phylogeny for various purposes. In prokaryotes, these peptides may act as chemotactic agents whereas in eukaryotes the same peptides may act by multiple actions. For example, in the pituitary gland, these peptides are secreted as classic hormones; in the central nervous system, they act as neurotransmitters; and in the testis as autocrine and paracrine regulators. The fact that immune-stainable β -endorphin and other POMC-derived peptides in Leydig cells appear to increase during periods of testosterone synthesis in fetal life and again at puberty suggests that the expression of these peptides might be dependent upon gonadotropin secretion. The chapter also explains the effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) treatment on testicular POMC-like mRNA in hypo-physectomized animals. It has been found that treatment with hCG resulted in an increase in total content of POMC-like mRNA in the testis.
- Published
- 1987
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