Reproductive status-dependent dynorphin and neurokinin B gene expression in female Damaraland mole-rats

Damaraland mole rats (Fukomys damarensis) are cooperatively breeding, subterranean mammals, which exhibit high reproductive skew. Reproduction is monopolized by the dominant female of the group, while subordinates are physiologically suppressed. The blockade of reproduction results from an inhibition of ovulation, which is caused by inadequate secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the pituitary, which in turn might be brought about by a disruption of the normal GnRH secretion from the hypothalamus. The neuropeptides dynorphin and neurokinin B are expressed together with kisspeptin in a subpopulation of neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC). This neuron population is termed KNDy neurons and is considered to constitute the GnRH pulse generator. To assess whether dynorphin (encoded by the Pdyn gene) and neurokinin B (NKB, encoded by the Tac3 gene) are involved in the mechanism of reproductive suppression we investigated the distribution and gene expression of Pdyn and Tac3 by means of in situ hybridisation in wild-caught female Damaraland mole-rats with different reproductive status. In both reproductive phenotypes, substantial Pdyn expression was found in several brain regions of the telencephalon including the cerebral cortex, the striatum, the hippocampus, the amygdala and the olfactory tubercle. Within the hypothalamus Pdyn expression occurred in the paraventricular nucleus, the dorsomedial nucleus, the supraoptic nucleus, the ventromedial nucleus and the ARC. Prominent Tac3 expression was found in the habenula, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the cerebral cortex, the striatum, the hippocampus, the amygdala, the dorsomedial nucleus, the ARC and the lateral mammillary nucleus. Quantification of the gene expression levels in the ARC revealed decreased Pdyn and increased Tac3 expression in breeding compared to nonbreeding females. This suggests that both neuropeptides play a role in the regulation of reproduction in Damaraland mole-rats. Their exact role in mediating the inhibition of GnRH release in nonbreeding females remains to be determined.