This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 21/12/3071    most recent Author Manuscript (PDF) Author Manuscript (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Coss, D. Articles by Mellon, P. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Coss, D. Articles by Mellon, P. L.

p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Is Critical for Synergistic Induction of the FSHβ Gene by Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone and Activin through Augmentation of c-Fos Induction and Smad Phosphorylation

Departments of Reproductive Medicine and Neuroscience, Center for Reproductive Science and Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Pamela L. Mellon, Department of Reproductive Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0674. E-mail: pmellon{at}ucsd.edu.

GnRH and activin independently and synergistically activate transcription of the FSH β-subunit gene, the subunit that provides specificity and is the limiting factor in the synthesis of the mature hormone. This synergistic interaction, as determined by two-way ANOVA, is specific for FSHβ and may, therefore, contribute to differential expression of the two gonadotropin hormones, which is critical for the reproductive cycle. We find that the cross-talk between the GnRH and activin signaling pathways occurs at the level of p38 MAPK, because the synergy is dependent on p38 MAPK activity, which is activated by GnRH, and activin cotreatment augments p38 activation by GnRH. Both the Smad and activator protein-1 binding sites on the FSHβ promoter are necessary and sufficient for synergy. After cotreatment, Smad 3 proteins are more highly phosphorylated on the activin-receptor signaling-dependent residues on the C terminus than with activin treatment alone, and c-Fos is more highly expressed than with GnRH treatment alone. Inhibition of p38 by either of two different inhibitors or a dominant-negative p38 kinase abrogates synergy on FSHβ expression, reduces c-Fos induction by GnRH, and prevents the further increase in c-Fos levels that occurs with cotreatment. Additionally, p38 is necessary for maximal Smad 3 C-terminal phosphorylation by activin treatment alone and for the further increase caused by cotreatment. Thus, p38 is the pivotal signaling molecule that integrates GnRH and activin interaction on the FSHβ promoter through higher induction of c-Fos and elevated Smad phosphorylation.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L Nicol, M-O Faure, J R McNeilly, J Fontaine, C Taragnat, and A S McNeilly Bone morphogenetic protein-4 interacts with activin and GnRH to modulate gonadotrophin secretion in L{beta}T2 gonadotrophs J. Endocrinol., March 1, 2008; 196(3): 497 - 507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. G. Thackray and P. L. Mellon Synergistic Induction of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone {beta}-Subunit Gene Expression by Gonadal Steroid Hormone Receptors and Smad Proteins Endocrinology, March 1, 2008; 149(3): 1091 - 1102. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]