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Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New Hampshire, Room 310, 46 College Road, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
¹ Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, School of Fisheries Sciences, Kitasato University, Sanriku, Iwate 022-0101, Japan
² Sado Marine Station, Niigata University, Sado, Niigata 952-2135, Japan

(Requests for offprints should be addressed to S A Sower; Email: sasower{at}cisunix.unh.edu)

A full-length transcript encoding a functional lamprey glycoprotein hormone receptor I (lGpH-R I, GenBank AY750688 [GenBank] ) was cloned from the testes of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, using the GpH-R protein fingerprint GLYCHORMONER from the PRINTS database. The present study is the first to identify a GpH-R transcript in an agnathan, which is one of the only two representatives of the oldest lineage of vertebrates. The 719-amino acid full-length cDNA encoding lGpH-R I is highly similar and is likely a homolog of the vertebrate GpH-Rs (including LH, FSH, and TSH receptors). The key motifs, sequence comparisons, and characteristics of the identified GpH-R reveal a mosaic of features common to all other classes of GpH-Rs in vertebrates. The lGpH-R I was shown to activate the cAMP signaling system using human chorionic gonadotropin in transiently transfected COS-7 cells. The highest expression of the receptor transcript was demonstrated in the testes using reverse transcriptase-PCR. Lower levels of the receptor transcript were also detected in brain, heart, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle, and thyroid. The high expression of lGpH-R I in the testis and the high similarity with gnathostome gonadotropin hormone receptors suggest that lGpH-R I functions as a receptor for lamprey gonadotropin hormones. We hypothesize from these data that there is lower specificity of gonadotropin and its receptor in agnathans and that during co-evolution of the ligand and its receptor in gnathostomes, there were increased specificities of interactions between each GpH (TSH, LH, and FSH) and its receptor.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Freamat and S. A Sower A sea lamprey glycoprotein hormone receptor similar with gnathostome thyrotropin hormone receptor J. Mol. Endocrinol., October 1, 2008; 41(4): 219 - 228. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]