Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is essential for the initiation and maintenance of reproductive functions in vertebrates. To date, three distinct paralogue lineages, GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3, have been identified with different functions and regulatory mechanisms. Among them, hypothalamic GnRH1...
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doaj-2763fbcc2cb940e6a8f485d431506ea12020-11-25T02:22:55ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672020-04-01212724272410.3390/ijms21082724Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid FishSatoshi Ogawa0Ishwar S. Parhar1Brain Research Institute, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, MalaysiaBrain Research Institute, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, MalaysiaGonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is essential for the initiation and maintenance of reproductive functions in vertebrates. To date, three distinct paralogue lineages, GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3, have been identified with different functions and regulatory mechanisms. Among them, hypothalamic GnRH1 neurons are classically known as the hypophysiotropic form that is regulated by estrogen feedback. However, the mechanism of action underlying the estrogen-dependent regulation of GnRH1 has been debated, mainly due to the coexpression of low levels of estrogen receptor (ER) genes. In addition, the role of sex steroids in the modulation of GnRH2 and GnRH3 neurons has not been fully elucidated. Using single-cell real-time PCR, we revealed the expression of genes for estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, thyroid, and xenobiotic receptors in GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3 neurons in the male Nile tilapia <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>. We further quantified expression levels of estrogen receptor genes (ERα, ERβ, and ERγ) in three GnRH neuron types in male tilapia of two different social statuses (dominant and subordinate) at the single cell level. In dominant males, GnRH1 mRNA levels were positively proportional to ERγ mRNA levels, while in subordinate males, GnRH2 mRNA levels were positively proportional to ERβ mRNA levels. These results indicate that variations in the expression of nuclear receptors (and possibly steroid sensitivities) among individual GnRH cells may facilitate different physiological processes, such as the promotion of reproductive activities through GnRH1 neurons, and the inhibition of feeding and sexual behaviors through GnRH2 neurons.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/8/2724steroidsxenobioticaggressionsocial stressteleosts |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Satoshi Ogawa Ishwar S. Parhar |
spellingShingle |
Satoshi Ogawa Ishwar S. Parhar Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish International Journal of Molecular Sciences steroids xenobiotic aggression social stress teleosts |
author_facet |
Satoshi Ogawa Ishwar S. Parhar |
author_sort |
Satoshi Ogawa |
title |
Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish |
title_short |
Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish |
title_full |
Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish |
title_fullStr |
Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish |
title_full_unstemmed |
Single-Cell Gene Profiling Reveals Social Status-Dependent Modulation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors in GnRH Neurons in a Male Cichlid Fish |
title_sort |
single-cell gene profiling reveals social status-dependent modulation of nuclear hormone receptors in gnrh neurons in a male cichlid fish |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
issn |
1661-6596 1422-0067 |
publishDate |
2020-04-01 |
description |
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is essential for the initiation and maintenance of reproductive functions in vertebrates. To date, three distinct paralogue lineages, GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3, have been identified with different functions and regulatory mechanisms. Among them, hypothalamic GnRH1 neurons are classically known as the hypophysiotropic form that is regulated by estrogen feedback. However, the mechanism of action underlying the estrogen-dependent regulation of GnRH1 has been debated, mainly due to the coexpression of low levels of estrogen receptor (ER) genes. In addition, the role of sex steroids in the modulation of GnRH2 and GnRH3 neurons has not been fully elucidated. Using single-cell real-time PCR, we revealed the expression of genes for estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, thyroid, and xenobiotic receptors in GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3 neurons in the male Nile tilapia <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>. We further quantified expression levels of estrogen receptor genes (ERα, ERβ, and ERγ) in three GnRH neuron types in male tilapia of two different social statuses (dominant and subordinate) at the single cell level. In dominant males, GnRH1 mRNA levels were positively proportional to ERγ mRNA levels, while in subordinate males, GnRH2 mRNA levels were positively proportional to ERβ mRNA levels. These results indicate that variations in the expression of nuclear receptors (and possibly steroid sensitivities) among individual GnRH cells may facilitate different physiological processes, such as the promotion of reproductive activities through GnRH1 neurons, and the inhibition of feeding and sexual behaviors through GnRH2 neurons. |
topic |
steroids xenobiotic aggression social stress teleosts |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/8/2724 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT satoshiogawa singlecellgeneprofilingrevealssocialstatusdependentmodulationofnuclearhormonereceptorsingnrhneuronsinamalecichlidfish AT ishwarsparhar singlecellgeneprofilingrevealssocialstatusdependentmodulationofnuclearhormonereceptorsingnrhneuronsinamalecichlidfish |
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