Expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) in male American bullfrog ( Rana catesbeiana) and preliminary evaluation of the response to TNT

We examined the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein mRNA in the American bullfrog ( Rana catesbeiana). Primers and probes were designed to obtain a partial sequence of bullfrog StAR cDNA consisting of 349 base pairs. Quantitative PCR analysis of StAR mRNA equivalents was perf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 2010-06, Vol.80 (1), p.41-45
Main Authors: Paden, Norka E., Carr, James A., Kendall, Ronald J., Wages, Mike, Smith, Ernest E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Amphibia. Reptilia
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Bullfrog
Chorionic Gonadotropin - pharmacology
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Environmental Pollutants - chemistry
Environmental Pollutants - toxicity
Equivalence
Explosive Agents - chemistry
Explosive Agents - toxicity
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene expression
General aspects
hCG and TNT
Humans
Male
Males
Phosphoproteins - genetics
Phosphoproteins - metabolism
Proteins
Rana castesbeiana
Rana catesbeiana - metabolism
Reduction
Reproduction
Ribonucleic acids
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S - metabolism
Star protein
Stars
Steroidogenesis
TNT
Trinitrotoluene - chemistry
Trinitrotoluene - toxicity
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
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Summary:We examined the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein mRNA in the American bullfrog ( Rana catesbeiana). Primers and probes were designed to obtain a partial sequence of bullfrog StAR cDNA consisting of 349 base pairs. Quantitative PCR analysis of StAR mRNA equivalents was performed in tissues of juvenile and adult bullfrogs. In this study 18S mRNA was used as an internal standard. There were no differences in the expression of 18S RNA among tissues or between age groups. In juvenile males, the rank order for the constitutive levels of StAR was testes > skin > brain > kidneys. In adult males, StAR mRNA equivalent was greatest in testes, followed by kidneys, brain, and skin. In addition, stimulation and induction of testicular StAR by human chorionic gonadotropin significantly increased expression of StAR at 2, 4, and 6 h after injection. Preliminary evaluation of 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) revealed that acute exposure is associated with reduction of StAR mRNA expression. The information provided in this study will be useful for future research on StAR gene expression in amphibian reproductive biology and the development of reproductive biomarkers.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.03.049