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Genomic and Nongenomic Cross Talk between the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor and Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling Pathways

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology (A.K., C.A., J.P.H.), University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa; and Department of Biochemistry (S.F., H.S.-V.G.), University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Janet P. Hapgood, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa. E-mail: Janet.Hapgood{at}uct.ac.za.

The GnRH receptor (GnRHR), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor family, is a central regulator of reproductive function in all vertebrates. The peptide hormone GnRH exerts its effects via binding to the GnRHR in pituitary gonadotropes. We investigated the mechanisms of regulation of transcription of the mGnRHR gene in the mouse pituitary gonadotrope LβT2 cell line by GnRH and dexamethasone (dex). Reporter assays with transfected mGnRHR promoter show that both dex and GnRH increase transcription of the mGnRHR gene via an activating protein-1 (AP-1) site. Real-time PCR confirmed this on the endogenous mGnRHR gene, and small interfering RNA experiments revealed a requirement for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) for both the dex and GnRH response. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and immunofluorescence assays provide evidence that both GnRH and dex up-regulate the GnRHR gene via nuclear translocation and interaction of the GR with the AP-1 region on the mGnRHR promoter. We show that GnRH activates the unliganded GR by rapid phosphorylation of the GR at Ser-234 in a GnRHR-dependent fashion to transactivate a GRE reporter gene in LβT2 and COS-1 cells. Using kinase inhibitors, we established a direct link between GnRH-induced protein kinase C and MAPK activation, leading to unliganded GR phosphorylation at Ser-234 and transactivation of the glucocorticoid response element. Furthermore, we show that GnRH and dex synergistically activate the endogenous GnRHR promoter in LβT2 cells, via a mechanism involving steroid receptor coactivator-1 recruitment to the GnRHR AP-1 region. Our results suggest a novel mechanism of rapid nongenomic cross talk between the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axes via GnRHR-dependent phosphorylation and activation of the unliganded GR in response to GnRH.