Abstract
Protein kinase C (PKC) is a critical element for signal transduction in many cell types, and its activation mediates the secretion of pituitary hormones in developing and mature animals. Although it has recently been recognized that PKC consists of a family of functionally distinct isotypcs willi tissue-specific patterns of distribution, the expression of specific PKC isotypes during pituitary development is not known. In order to determine the ontogeny of pituitary PKC isotypes, we prepared extracts from pituitary homogenales of newborn (2-4 days [d]-old; n= 2 preparations), juvenile (12-d-old; n= 1 preparation), and adult male (3-4 months; n= 4 preparations) Sprague-Dawley rats. The soluble fractions of the pituitary homogenates from each age group were subjected to SDS-IACJH, and immunoblot analyses performed using affinity-purified, highly specific antibodies to PKC isotypes α, βI, βII, γ, δ, ε, and ζ (3-6 experiments/isotype). PKC isotypes α and ζ were expressed in high abundance in immature and mature pituitary extracts. However, the expression of PKC βI, βII, γ, and ε were markedly age-dependent; these isotypes were clearly expressed by adult pituiuiries but not detected in neonatal and juvenile pituitaries. PKC γ was detected in very low quantities in all age groups.
Conclusion: PKC expression in the pituitary is isotype-specific and is subject to strict developmental progression. The achievement of a mature pattern of pituitary PKC isotypc expression appears to involve an expanded capacity to produce diverse and specific PKC isotypes.
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Cuttler, L., Axline, M. & Fields, A. PROTEIN KINASE C ISOTYPE EXPRESSION DURING EARLY PITUITARY DEVELOPMENT. Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S72 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00414
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00414