Coordinated expression of splice variants for luteinizing hormone receptor messenger RNA during the development of...

We characterized splice variants for LH receptor mRNA in the bovine corpus luteum and examined the levels of expression of all the splice variants during the development of corpus luteum. Total RNA was extracted from bovine corpora lutea, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to amplify a part of the extracellular and transmembrane domains. As a result, four distinct bands were observed on analyses with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and sequencing of the products revealed that the largest form (519 bp) was the full-length A form and that the three shorter forms (438, 253, and 172 bp) were its splicing variants. Splicing patterns of the 438-, 253-, and 172-bp forms are identical to the F, B, and G forms, respectively, found in the ovine ovary. In order to examine the level of expression of all these splice variants simultaneously, semiquantitative RT-PCR was set up and performed. The relative intensities for all four forms of LH receptor mRNA significantly increased (P < 0.05) from Stage I (Days 1-4; Day 1 = day of ovulation) to IIS (Days 5-10, CL weight < 4 g), and from Stage IIS to IIL (Days 5-10, CL weight > or = 4 g). The intensities of all forms for LH receptor mRNA decreased slightly, but not significantly, from Stage IIL to III (Days 11-17). The ratios of the levels for all the forms did not change significantly during the development of the corpus luteum. Determination of the steady-state levels of LH receptor mRNA by Northern blotting showed similar changes during the development of the corpus luteum to changes of the splice variants examined by the semiquantitative RT-PCR. These results suggest that at least three splicing variants of LH receptor mRNA (i.e., F, B, and G forms) exist in the bovine corpus luteum and that the levels of all the forms of LH receptor mRNA increased in a coordinated manner during the development of bovine corpus luteum.