Regulation of gastrin-releasing peptide gene expression in chickens
- 1Key Laboratory of Bio-resources and Eco-environment, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 2Animal Disease Prevention and Green Development Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
Abstract
Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuropeptide with diverse physiological functions in mammals. Similar to its mammalian counterparts, chicken GRP (cGRP) is expressed in endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract, including the proventriculus, where it regulates gastric acid secretion. Our previous study showed that cGRP is predominantly expressed in the anterior pituitary and acts as a novel pituitary hormone that promotes the survival of small ovarian follicles. Using primary pituitary cell cultures, we found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) markedly increased cGRP mRNA abundance in both dose- and time-dependent manners. Pharmacological analyses suggested that this effect likely involved the AC/cAMP/PKA pathway and the PLC/PKC/MEK/ERK pathway. We also examined the regulation of GRP expression by sex steroids. 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and progesterone (P4) downregulated GRP expression in cultured chicken pituitary cells, whereas 17β-estradiol (E2) upregulated GRP expression in dose- and time-dependent manners. Analysis of the isolated GRP 5′-flanking region identified potential estrogen receptor-binding sites, providing a molecular basis for E2-mediated upregulation of GRP expression. These findings support cGRP as a novel pituitary hormone under hypothalamic GnRH1 control and feedback regulation by sex steroids. Together with its reported role in the survival of small ovarian follicles, cGRP may contribute to the regulation of egg production in chickens.
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BibTeX
@article{tang2026regulation,
title = {{Regulation of gastrin-releasing peptide gene expression in chickens}},
author = {Kefan Tang and Xuan Tian and Xiaohan Yuan and Yanrong Li and Jiannan Zhang and Yajun Wang and Juan Li},
journal = {Frontiers in Physiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphys.2026.1940305},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1940305},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Regulation of gastrin-releasing peptide gene expression in chickens
AU - Kefan Tang
AU - Xuan Tian
AU - Xiaohan Yuan
AU - Yanrong Li
AU - Jiannan Zhang
AU - Yajun Wang
AU - Juan Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2026.1940305
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1940305
AB - Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuropeptide with diverse physiological functions in mammals. Similar to its mammalian counterparts, chicken GRP (cGRP) is expressed in endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract, including the proventriculus, where it regulates gastric acid secretion. Our previous study showed that cGRP is predominantly expressed in the anterior pituitary and acts as a novel pituitary hormone that promotes the survival of small ovarian follicles. Using primary pituitary cell cultures, we found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) markedly increased cGRP mRNA abundance in both dose- and time-dependent manners. Pharmacological analyses suggested that this effect likely involved the AC/cAMP/PKA pathway and the PLC/PKC/MEK/ERK pathway. We also examined the regulation of GRP expression by sex steroids. 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and progesterone (P4) downregulated GRP expression in cultured chicken pituitary cells, whereas 17β-estradiol (E2) upregulated GRP expression in dose- and time-dependent manners. Analysis of the isolated GRP 5′-flanking region identified potential estrogen receptor-binding sites, providing a molecular basis for E2-mediated upregulation of GRP expression. These findings support cGRP as a novel pituitary hormone under hypothalamic GnRH1 control and feedback regulation by sex steroids. Together with its reported role in the survival of small ovarian follicles, cGRP may contribute to the regulation of egg production in chickens.
SN - 1664-042X
ER -