Suppression effect of LHRH-A and hCG on Piwi expression in testis of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

Piwi proteins as constituent factors of the piRNA pathway are required for germline maintenance, meiosis and gonad development. Previous study showed hCG could regulate the Piwi expression in ovary of teleosts. In this study, we revealed effects of LHRH-A and hCG on Piwi expression in testis of tilapia using Real-time PCR and Western blot. Both in vivo and in vitro study suggest that LHRH-A and hCG significantly down-regulated Piwil-1 and Piwil-2 in mRNA or protein levels compared with controls. Meanwhile, tissue and cell distribution showed that Piwi proteins were mainly expressed in spermatocytes rather than mature sperms. These results indicated that HPG suppresses Piwis which may play a crucial role in testis differentiation and development.