| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DEVELOPMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY AND PREGNANCY
1Centre for the Early Origins of Adult Health, Discipline of Physiology, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 2Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Submitted 5 August 2005 ; accepted in final form 8 November 2005
It is unknown whether the JAK/STAT/suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3) intracellular signaling pathway plays a role in tissue growth and metabolism during fetal life. We investigated whether there is a differential profile of SOCS-3 expression in the liver and perirenal adipose tissue during the period of increased fetal growth in late gestation and the impact of fetal growth restriction on SOCS-3 expression in the fetal liver. We also determined whether basal SOCS-3 expression in the fetal liver and perirenal adipose tissue is regulated by endogenous fetal prolactin (PRL). SOCS-3 mRNA abundance was higher in the liver than in the pancreas, spleen, and kidney of the sheep fetus during late gestation. In the liver, SOCS-3 mRNA expression was increased (P < 0.05) between 125 (n = 4) and 145 days (n = 7) gestation and lower (P < 0.05) in growth-restricted compared with normally grown fetal sheep in late gestation. The relative expression of SOCS-3 mRNA in the fetal liver was directly related to the mean plasma PRL concentrations during a 48-h infusion of either a dopaminergic agonist, bromocriptine (n = 7), or saline (n = 5), such that SOCS-3 mRNA expression was lower when plasma PRL concentrations decreased below 
20 ng/ml [y = 0.99 – (2.47/x) + (4.96/x2); r2 = 0.91, P < 0.0001, n = 12]. No relationship was shown between the abundance of phospho-STAT5 in the fetal liver and circulating PRL. SOCS-3 expression in perirenal adipose tissue decreased (P < 0001) between 90–91 (n = 6) and 140–145 days (n = 9) gestation and was not related to endogenous PRL concentrations. Thus SOCS-3 is differentially expressed and regulated in key fetal tissues and may play an important and tissue-specific role in the regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation before birth.
growth; prolactin; development; pregnancy
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. K. Philp, B. S. Muhlhausler, A. Janovska, G. A. Wittert, J. A. Duffield, and I. C. McMillen Maternal overnutrition suppresses the phosphorylation of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase in liver, but not skeletal muscle, in the fetal and neonatal sheep Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, December 1, 2008; 295(6): R1982 - R1990. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. J. Zhu, B. Han, J. Tong, C. Ma, J. M. Kimzey, K. R. Underwood, Y. Xiao, B. W. Hess, S. P. Ford, P. W. Nathanielsz, et al. AMP-activated protein kinase signalling pathways are down regulated and skeletal muscle development impaired in fetuses of obese, over-nourished sheep J. Physiol., May 15, 2008; 586(10): 2651 - 2664. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Gentili, J. S. Schwartz, M. J. Waters, and I. C. McMillen Prolactin and the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 in the sheep adrenal gland before birth Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, November 1, 2006; 291(5): R1399 - R1405. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
