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A High-content In Vitro Pancreatic Islet β-cell Replication Discovery Platform
Published on: July 16, 2016
Insulin enhances the transcription of luteinizing hormone-beta gene
Christoph Dorn1, Jean-François Mouillet, Xiaomei Yan
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Objective:
Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are implicated in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition associated with elevated levels of LH. We tested the hypothesis that insulin enhances the transcriptional activity of LHbeta promoter.
Study Design:
We transfected the gonadotrope cell line LbetaT2 with a plasmid that expresses the proximal promoter of LHbeta gene upstream of luciferase, and determined insulin effect on endogenous LHbeta mRNA.
Results:
We found that insulin stimulated (2-4 fold) the activity of this promoter in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Accordingly, insulin up-regulated the level of LHbeta mRNA. In contrast, insulin had no significant effect on GnRH-dependent LHbeta expression. The expression of Egr-1 and SF-1, which are essential for transcription of LHbeta gene, was unchanged by insulin.
Conclusion:
Insulin enhances the transcription of LHbeta gene. This modulation may contribute to the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome.
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