Immunohistochemical characterization of the arcuate kisspeptin/neurokinin B/dynorphin (KNDy) and preoptic kisspeptin neuronal populations in the hypothalamus during the estrous cycle in heifers

  • HASSANEEN A
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • NANIWA Yousuke
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • SUETOMI Yuta
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • MATSUYAMA Shuichi
    National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Nasushiobara 329-2793, Japan
  • KIMURA Koji
    Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
  • IEDA Nahoko
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • INOUE Naoko
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • UENOYAMA Yoshihisa
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • TSUKAMURA Hiroko
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
  • MAEDA Kei-ichiro
    Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
  • MATSUDA Fuko
    Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
  • OHKURA Satoshi
    Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

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Abstract

<p> Elucidating the physiological mechanisms that control reproduction is an obvious strategy for improving the fertility of cattle and developing new agents to control reproductive functions. The present study aimed to identify kisspeptin neurons in the bovine hypothalamus, clarifying that a central mechanism is also present in the cattle brain, as kisspeptin is known to play an important role in the stimulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/gonadotropin secretion in other mammals. To characterize kisspeptin neurons in the bovine hypothalamus, the co-localizations of kisspeptin and neurokinin B (NKB) or kisspeptin and dynorphin A (Dyn) were examined. Hypothalamic tissue was collected from Japanese Black or Japanese Black × Holstein crossbred cows during the follicular and luteal phases. Brain sections, including the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and the preoptic area (POA), were dual immunostained with kisspeptin and either NKB or Dyn. In the ARC, both NKB and Dyn were co-localized in kisspeptin neurons during both the follicular and luteal phases, demonstrating the presence of kisspeptin/NKB/Dyn-containing neurons, referred to as KNDy neurons, in cows. In the POA, no co-localization of kisspeptin with either NKB or Dyn was detected. Kisspeptin expression in the follicular phase was higher than that in the luteal phase, suggesting that kisspeptin expression in the POA is positively controlled by estrogen in cows. The kisspeptin neuronal populations in the ARC and POA likely play important roles in regulating the GnRH pulse and surge, respectively, in cows.</p>

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