Evolutionary origin of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the most primitive vertebrate, hagfish

• Project/Area Number: 25440159
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Morphology/Structure
• Research Institution: University of Miyazaki
• Principal Investigator: Uchida Katsuhisa 宮崎大学, 農学部, 准教授 (50360508)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): Shunsuke Moriyama 北里大学, 海洋生命科学部, 教授 (50222352)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): Susumu Hyodo 東京大学, 大気海洋研究所, 准教授 (40222244)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
• Budget Amount: ¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
• Keywords: 下垂体 / ホルモン / 無顎類 / 進化 / 成長ホルモン / 分子進化 / 内分泌系 / 内分泌 / 視床下部 / 生理現象

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Here we report the identification of a growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary of the Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus burgeri) by next-generation sequence analysis. The hagfish GH cDNA consists of 870 nucleotides encoding a prehormone of 203 amino acid (aa) residues, with a putative signal peptide of 20 aa residues and a mature protein of 183 aa residues. By aligning cysteine (Cys) residues, the aa sequence was comparable to gnathostome GHs; four Cys were conserved at position 75, 177, 194, 204, which have been considered to be crucial for molecular construction of GH.
For immunohistochemistry, a rabbit antiserum was raised against the synthetic peptides corresponding to the hagfish pre-GH (aa 109-122). An intense immunoreaction to anti-hagfish GH was observed in peripheral cells of most cell clusters in the adenohypophysis. We are now analyzing the cellular localization of GH gene and functions of GH molecule in the Pacific hagfish.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Variation in the ontogeny of sex steroid levels between latitudinal populations of the medaka. (2015)
  • Author(s): Kawajiri M., Uchida K., Chiba H., Moriyama S., Yamahira K.
  • Journal Title: Zoological Letters Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Pages: 31-31
  • DOI: 10.1186/s40851-015-0032-1
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Induction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) during acute acidosis and its role in acid secretion by V-ATPase-expressing ionocytes (2015)
  • Author(s): Furukawa F, Tseng YC, Liu ST, Chou YL, Lin CC, Sung PH, Uchida K, Lin LY, Hwang PP
  • Journal Title: International Journal of Biological Sciences Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Pages: 712-725
  • DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.11827
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Discovery of conventional prolactin from the holocephalan elephant fish, Callorhinchus milii. (2015)
  • Author(s): Yamaguchi, Y., Takagi, W., Kuraku, S., Moriyama, S., Bell, J.D., Seale, A.P., Lerner, D.T., Grau, E.G. and Hyodo, S.
  • Journal Title: General and Comparative Endocrinology Volume: 224 Pages: 216-227
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.08.020
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Molecular cloning of cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage and changes in its mRNA expression during gonadal development of brown hagfish, Paramyxine atami. (2015)
  • Author(s): Nishiyama M., Uchida K., Abe N., Nozaki M.
  • Journal Title: General and Comparetive Endocrinology Volume: 212 Pages: 1-9
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.01.014
  • Peer Reviewed / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Relationships between plasma concentrations of sex steroid hormones and gonadal development in the brown hagfish (2013)
  • Author(s): Nishiyama M, Chiba H, Uchida K, Shimotani T, Nozaki M
  • Journal Title: Paramyxine atami, Zool Sci Volume: 30 Issue: 11 Pages: 967-974
  • DOI: 10.2108/zsj.30.967
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Effects of estradiol or testosterone treatment on expression of gonadotropin subunit mRNAs and proteins in the pituitary of juvenile brown hagfish, Paramyxine atami. (2013)
  • Author(s): Nozaki M., Uchida K., Honda K., Shimotani T., Nishiyama M.
  • Journal Title: General and Comparative Endocrinology Volume: 189 Pages: 111-118
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Evolutionary origin of a pituitary-gonadal axis in the most primitive vertebrate, hagfish (2014)
  • Author(s): Katsuhisa Uchida
  • Organizer: 2014, Annual Seminar between University of Miyazaki and Pukyong National University
  • Place of Presentation: Pukyong National University, Busan, Korea
  • Year and Date: 2014-12-03 – 2014-12-05
  • Invited
• [Presentation] 最古の脊椎動物の下垂体：その機能と進化を探る． (2013)
  • Author(s): 内田勝久
  • Organizer: 東京大学大気海洋研究所共同利用研究集会，“海洋生物のさまざまな適応戦略”
  • Place of Presentation: 東京大学大気海洋研究所(千葉県柏市）
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Expression of a recombinant glycoprotein hormone and its biological activities in most primitive vertebrates, hagfish Paramyxine atami. (2013)
  • Author(s): Uchida, K., Nishiyama M., Moriyama S., Nozaki M.
  • Organizer: 17th International Congress on Comparative Endocrinology (ICCE 2013)
  • Place of Presentation: Barcelona, Spain
• [Presentation] クロヌタウナギにおける生殖腺発達に応じた血中性ステロイドホルモン動態と合成酵素の探索． (2013)
  • Author(s): 西山真樹、内田勝久、森山俊介、千葉洋明、阿部希美、下谷豊和、野崎眞澄
  • Organizer: 第38回日本比較内分泌学会
  • Place of Presentation: 宮崎市