Research On FSH In Rat Pancreas

It is well known that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a heterodimer glycoprotein composed of α and β subunits, which was secreted by basophilous cells of antepituitary. It regulates the function of gonad from blood circulation and has an important role in production of gonadal hormone and reproductive process. Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) is a G protein-coupled receptor, which is mainly expressed on Sertoli cells and granular cells of gonad. It has a large extracellular doman at N-terminal to combine with FSH. However, with the development of medical research, many experiments showed that FSH also exists in other tissues besides pituitary. In reproductive system, FSH exists in prostate, breast, testis and placenta; in non-reproductive system, FSH exists in parietal cells of stomach. Besides expressed in gonad, FSHR also exists in uterine tubal epithelium and cervix.GnRH is a superior hormone of FSH, which can regulate the secretion of FSH. Our previous research found that GnRH and its receptor exists in rat pancreas and regulates the endocrine and exocrine of rat pancreas.However, there is no report about the FSH in rat pancreas.On the base of our previous research, we did the following experiments: Immunohistochemistry method was used to localize FSH in rat pancreas; double label immunohistochemical stain method in two adjacent sections was used to study the coexistence of FSH with GnRHR in rat pancreas; double label immunofluorescence histochemical staining and confocal laser-scanning microscope were used to study the colocalization of FSH and FSHR in rat pancreas; pancreas tissue of rats was incubated in vitro and different concentration of FSH was added, enzyme-link immunoassay was used to measure the contents of insulin and glucagons in supernatant to study the effects of FSH on the secretion of insulin and glucagons in vitro.Through these experiments, the results are as follows: by using Immunohistochemistry method, we found that FSH immunoreactive positive products were located in some cells of exocrine portion and islet of rat pancreas; by using double label immunohistochemical stain method in two adjacent sections, we found that FSH and GnRHR immunoreactive positive products were co-located in some islet cells in the adjacent sections of rat pancreas; by using double label immunofluorescence histochemical staining and confocal laser-scanning microscope, we found that the FSH positive products were located in some cells of exocrine portion and epithelial cells of gland duct, some islet cells and endothelial cells of blood vessel, these cells showed green fluorescence in cytoplasm, the FSHR positive products were located In some islet cells and some epithelial cells of exocrine gland, the positive products distributed in cytoplasm showing red fluorescence, both...