Development of pro-TRH gene expression in primary cultures of fetal hypothalamic cells

Little is known about the temporal relationship and the sequential steps for peptide biosynthesis during the terminal differentiation of the peptide phenotype in central nervous system. Analysis of the TRH phenotype in primary cultures of rat fetal day 17 hypothalamic cells has shown that TRH levels start increasing only after a week in culture, in contrast with in vivo data showing a steady increase during late fetal life. The purpose of this study was to compare the developmental patterns of TRH and pro-TRH mRNA levels in vitro to determine whether the initial low and steady levels of TRH are due to deficient transcription. Pro-TRH mRNA levels were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR through the development of primary cultures of serum-supplemented hypothalamic fetal cells from 17 day old embryos. Pro-TRH mRNA levels per dish increased steadily since the beginning of the culture. In contrast, TRH levels per dish were low and stable during the first week increasing afterwards, but remaining low compared to equivalent in vivo values. Pro-TRH mRNA levels per hypothalamus increased between fetal day 17 and postnatal 14, suggesting that the in vitro pattern of pro-TRH mRNA development mimics that occurring in vivo. These data show that pro-TRH gene expression does not limit TRH accumulation in vitro suggesting that the transcriptional and post-transcriptional programs leading to peptide accumulation are established independently.