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Regulation of gonadotropins, gonadotropin receptors and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors
Physiology/Endocrinology
Endocrine Regulation of Reproduction
Project Title
Regulation of gonadotropins, gonadotropin receptors and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors
Description
The over-all goal of this project is to identify the physiological mechanisms
involved in controlling reproduction in fish with a view toward understanding
effects of environmental factors on reproduction and the development of methods
for artificial manipulation of sexual maturation in captively reared fish.
Reproduction in fish, like higher vertebrates, is regulated by the reproductive
endocrine system including the brain (hypothalamus), pituitary, and gonads.
The pituitary gland plays a central role in initiating reproductive maturation
(puberty), maintaining production of sperm and eggs by the gonads, and inducing
final maturation and gamete release (spawning). In fish, gonadotropins are the
major pituitary hormones responsible for regulating gametogenesis. Because of
the central role that gonadotropins play in regulating sexual maturation, the
focus of this project is to determine how the synthesis and secretion of these
hormones, as well as their gonadal receptors, are regulated by growth factors
and sex steroids. Gonadotropin subunits and receptors, and
gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors have been cloned to study effects of
growth factors and steroids on gene expression using quantitative real time PCR.
Principal Investigator
Penny Swanson (Resource Enhancement Utilization Technology Division)
Collaborators
Jon Dickey, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
Robert P. Millar, Ministry Research Council Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, Edinburgh, Scotland
Mariann Rand-Weaver, Brunel University, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
Related Links
School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington
Physiology/Endocrinology
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last modified 02/04/03
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