PUBLICATION
Knockout of the Gnrh genes in zebrafish: effects on reproduction and potential compensation by reproductive and feeding-related neuropeptides
- Authors
- Marvel, M., Spicer, O.S., Wong, T.T., Zmora, N., Zohar, Y.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-180418-11
- Date
- 2018
- Source
- Biology of reproduction 99(3): 565-577 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Zohar, Yonathan
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Agouti-Related Protein/genetics
- Animals
- Brain/metabolism
- Down-Regulation
- Female
- Gene Knockdown Techniques/veterinary*
- Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/deficiency
- Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/genetics*
- Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/physiology
- Hypothalamic Hormones/genetics
- Hypothalamus/physiology
- Male
- Neuropeptides/administration & dosage*
- Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide/genetics
- Pituitary Gland/physiology
- Reproduction/physiology*
- Secretogranin II/genetics
- Tachykinins/genetics
- Up-Regulation
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- Zebrafish/physiology
- PubMed
- 29635430 Full text @ Biol. Reprod.
Citation
Marvel, M., Spicer, O.S., Wong, T.T., Zmora, N., Zohar, Y. (2018) Knockout of the Gnrh genes in zebrafish: effects on reproduction and potential compensation by reproductive and feeding-related neuropeptides. Biology of reproduction. 99(3):565-577.
Abstract
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is known as a pivotal upstream regulator of reproduction in vertebrates. However, reproduction is not compromised in the hypophysiotropic Gnrh3 knockout line in zebrafish (gnrh3-/-). In order to determine if Gnrh2, the only other Gnrh isoform in zebrafish brains, is compensating for the loss of Gnrh3, we generated a double Gnrh knockout zebrafish line. Surprisingly, the loss of both Gnrh isoforms resulted in no major impact on reproduction, indicating that a compensatory response, outside of the Gnrh system, was evoked. A plethora of factors acting along the reproductive hypothalamus-pituitary axis were evaluated as possible compensators based on neuroanatomical and differential gene expression studies. In addition, we also examined the involvement of feeding factors in the brain as potential compensators for Gnrh2, which has known anorexigenic effects. We found that the double knockout fish exhibited upregulation of several genes in the brain, specifically gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (gnih), secretogranin 2 (scg2), tachykinin 3a (tac3a), and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide 1 (pacap1), and downregulation of agouti-related peptide 1 (agrp1), indicating the compensation occurs outside of Gnrh cells and therefore is a non-cell autonomous response to the loss of Gnrh. While the differential expression of gnih and agrp1 in the double knockout line was confined to the periventricular nucleus and hypothalamus, respectively, the upregulation of scg2 corresponded with a broader neuronal redistribution in the lateral hypothalamus and hindbrain. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the existence of a redundant reproductive regulatory system that comes into play when Gnrh2 and Gnrh3 are lost.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping