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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: JOE-08-0325v1 199/2/253    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chen, T. Articles by Lin, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chen, T. Articles by Lin, H.

State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People's Republic of China

(Correspondence should be addressed to W Li; Email: lsslws{at}mail.sysu.edu.cn)

GH secretagogue receptor (GHSR) is the receptor of ghrelin, a circulating GH-releasing and appetite-inducing hormone. In this paper, two Ghsr cDNAs, gpGhsr1a and gpGhsr1b, were identified and characterized in a teleost, the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). The gpGHSR1a is 1512 bp in length with an open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a protein of 383 amino acids with seven transmembrane (TM) domains, while the 1703 bp gpGHSR1b contains an ORF encoding for 303 amino acids with five TM domains. Comparison between cDNA and gene sequences showed that the two transcripts are two alternative splicing forms of a single gpGhsr gene. Tissue distribution and ontogeny of two gpGhsr mRNAs were examined by RT-PCR. The gpGHSR1a is mainly expressed in brain and pituitary gland, when compared with a more widespread expression of gpGHSR1b. During embryonic and larval development, the gpGhsr1b mRNA appears before the gpGhsr1a mRNA. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR performed on brain showed that both transcripts have the highest expression level in the pituitary gland. The expression level of gpGHSR1a was generally higher than that of gpGHSR1b. GHSR expressing cells were also detected widely in grouper brain by in situ hybridization, with a broader distribution than previous reports in mammals. Finally, an in vitro study showed that expression of both gpGHSR transcripts in pituitary and hypothalamus is downregulated by GH and ghrelin but not by des-acyl ghrelin, and this suggests that feedback regulation of GHSR also exists in teleostean fishes.