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1 From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Cell and Developmental Biology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and 2 Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Standard methods were used for RNA isolation, reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction, Northern blot analysis, and in situ hybridization.
RESULTS. Multiple clones were isolated that, based on sequence analysis, segregated into two groups, presumed to represent two genes that encode the IR. These clones were designated goldfish IR-1 (gfIR-1) and goldfish IR-2 (gfIR-2). Northern blot analysis showed that both genes are expressed in multiple tissues, including the retina. Both gfIR-1 and -2 give rise to a single, major transcript, but the sizes of the two transcripts are different. In situ hybridizations using digoxygenin-labeled riboprobes showed that gfIR-1 and -2 are expressed by all differentiated retinal neurons as well as neuronal progenitors in the circumferential germinal zone.
CONCLUSIONS. These data demonstrate that the IR is expressed in the retina of the goldfish, and, on the basis of the cellular pattern of expression, suggest that insulin may act both to regulate neurogenesis and influence the function of differentiated neurons. The cellular coexpression of the receptors for both insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 and insulin suggests that neurons and/or neuronal progenitors in the retina of the goldfish may contain hybrid IGF-1/insulin receptors.
| Introduction |
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In an attempt to identify molecules that regulate growth-related and injury-induced neurogenesis in fish, Boucher and Hitchcock1 tested numerous peptide growth factors and found that those structurally related to insulin (insulin, insulin-like growth factor [IGF] 1and IGF-2) are potent mitogens of retinal progenitors within the CGZ. The proliferative response to these peptides was robust and dose dependent. The study described here was undertaken confirm that the mitogenic activity of insulin1 is via the insulin receptor (IR). To this end, partial cDNAs encoding the IR in the goldfish were cloned and the expression of the IR gene in the retina was characterized. Preliminary reports of this study have been published previously in abstract form.8
| Materials and Methods |
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Goldfish (46 in. standard length) were dark adapted to aid in isolating the retinas and killed by exsanguination. The retinas were dissected from the globes and immediately submerged in TRIzol Reagent (Gibco BRL, Gaithersburg, MD). Retinas were homogenized, and total RNA was isolated using the single-phase, phenol/guanidinium method described by the manufacturer. Similar methods were used to isolate total RNA from brain, gill, heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, and liver. Precipitated RNA was resuspended in RNase-free water and used immediately for the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or resuspended in deionized formamide and stored at -80°C (for Northern analysis).
First-strand cDNA synthesis was performed using the Superscript Preamplification System (Gibco BRL) according to the manufacturers instructions. The PCR was performed in a total volume of 50 µl containing 2 µl of the RT reaction, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.4, 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl2, 200 µM dNTPs, and 2.5 U Taq DNA polymerase. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers, reported previously to amplify insulin receptor cDNAs from the gill cartilage of coho salmon9 (primers IR-3 and IR-10), were used at a concentration of 100 ng/reaction. The PCR reaction was allowed to run for 30 cycles (95° for 30 seconds; 55° for 2 minutes; 72° for 2 minutes) followed by 72° for 10 minutes.
PCR products were separated on a 1% agarose gel, and a single band at approximately 1800 bp was purified and subcloned using pGEM-T vector (Promega, Madison, WI). Plasmid DNA was purified from multiple bacterial colonies, and the inserts were completely sequenced on both strands with overlapping runs by the DNA Sequencing Core at the University of Michigan. Raw sequence data were assembled using the Sequencing Project Manager software (DNA Star; Lasergene, Madison, WI). Open reading frames were identified and translated, and the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences were compared with previously published sequences (GenBank Database).
Northern Analysis
Blots of total RNA from several tissues were probed for the
Northern blot analysis. Twenty micrograms of RNA was loaded in each
lane, separated electrophoretically in an agarose gel, transferred to
Hybond+ filters (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Amersham, United Kingdom)
and photocross-linked (Stratalinker; Stratagene, La Jolla, CA). Blots
were hybridized overnight at 42°C with random-primed,
32P-labeled probes (>1 x
108 cpm; rediPrime II; Amersham
Pharmacia Biotech) and washed the next day in 2x SSC/0.5%SDS at room
temperature for 30 minutes, followed by a wash in 0.1x SSC/0.5% SDS
at 55°C for 30 minutes. Hybridization signal was detected by exposing
the blots to a Storage Phosphor Screen (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale,
CA). Each blot was stripped with boiling 0.1x SSC/0.5% SDS and
reprobed. Uniformity of loading was verified by ethidium staining of
gels and/or staining membranes after transfer with methylene blue.
Tissue Processing and In Situ Hybridization
Briefly, eyecups were fixed for 1 to 2 hours in fresh 4%
paraformaldehyde, in 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, and immersed
overnight at 4°C in 20% sucrose in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
The next day eyecups were infiltrated in a solution containing a 2:1
ratio of 20% sucrose/PBS and O.C.T. Compound (Tissue-Tek; Sakura
Finetek, Torrance, CA), embedded in 100% O.C.T., and frozen. Retinas
were sectioned at 10 µm using a cryostat and mounted on TESPA-coated
slides (Sigma, St. Louis, MO).
Plasmids containing gfIR-1 and gfIR-2 (see below) were linearized, and digoxygenin-labeled riboprobes (both sense and antisense) were synthesized by in vitro translation using a DIG-RNA labeling kit (Boehringer Mannheim GMbH, Mannheim, Germany). Without further processing of the riboprobes, in situ hybridizations were performed using methods published previously.10
| Results |
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-domain, the transmembrane domain, and
a portion of the intracellular ß-domain. In addition, both clones
contain sequences common to all receptor tyrosine kinases, including
conserved cysteine (C) and tyrosine (Y) residues, the tetrabasic
proteolytic cleavage site (RRRR/RQRR), and the tyrosine kinase
signature sequence (GxGxxG21xK).12
gfIR-1 and gfIR-2 share similar levels of
identity when compared with equivalent sequences of IRs from humans and
fish (salmon and turbot; Table 1
, Fig. 1
). A pairwise comparison of amino acid sequences between
gfIR-1 and -2 and cDNAs for the two goldfish
IGF-1 receptors showed that the goldfish IR was more similar to IR
homologues from other animals than to goldfish IGF-1R (Table 1)
,
consistent with the interpretation that gfIR-1 and
-2 are distinct from the cDNAs encoding the IGF-1 receptor.
Further, comparisons between gfIR-1 and -2 showed
that they are only 69.7% identical (Fig. 1
and Table 1
). We interpret
this difference in sequence identity, at both the nucleotide and amino
acid levels, to indicate that gfIR-1 and -2
transcripts represent two, nonallelic genes encoding the IR.
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| Discussion |
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Sequence comparisons of the partial cDNAs encoding the IRs in goldfish revealed that clones segregated into two groups that at the nucleotide level were only 67.9% identical. This relatively low degree of similarity cannot be attributed to amplification or sequencing errors and suggests that goldfish possess two genes encoding the IR. This was not unanticipated. Two distinct cDNAs encoding the goldfish IGF-1 receptor were isolated in parallel with the IR cDNAs,11 and multiple cDNAs encoding the IRs have been amplified from salmon tissues using the PCR primers described here.9 Multiple genes in fish are believed to reflect an ancient genome duplication event, perhaps as recently as 16 million years ago.21 The relatively low degree of identity between genes encoding the same protein is interpreted to show that once duplicated, each gene accumulates mutations independently.
Insulin (as well as IGF-1) is mitogenic for neuronal progenitors in the retinas of fish.1 22 Boucher and Hitchcock1 showed that both insulin and IGF-1 stimulate proliferation of cells in the CGZ; each peptide was potent at concentrations as low as 1 nM, and both produced a response similar in magnitude. Based on these observations, it was suggested that each peptide acts through its cognate receptor. The results from the in situ hybridizations (see Fig. 3B ) confirm this suggestion. Retinal progenitors within the CGZ contain mRNA encoding the IR and presumably express functional receptors. Insulin is a mitogen for retinal progenitors in embryonic birds,14 23 and the results of the present study suggest it may play a similar role regulating the persistent mitotic activity in the retinas of adult fish.
In addition to its mitogenic effects, insulin can have multiple other effects in the both the developing and mature nervous system.14 Insulin is best known as a regulator of glucose metabolism, and tight control of glucose utilization is perhaps the major function of this peptide in the nervous system.25 In addition, however, insulin can act as a trophic factor to promote neuronal differentiation, process outgrowth, and synapse formation.14 15 16 24 25 Further, insulin can modulate synaptic transmission. IRs are physically associated with postsynaptic specializations,26 and exogenous insulin alters the electrical response of neurons in the olfactory bulb27 and decreases the amplitude of the a- and b-waves of the bovine electroretinogram.28 Expression of the IR by the postmitotic cells in the retina of the goldfish suggests that among these cells insulin may have pliotropic effects, from regulating metabolism to modulating synaptic transmission.
Finally, the cellular expression of insulin and IGF-1 receptors in the goldfishs retina appears to be completely overlapping11 ; differentiated retinal cells as well as the retinal progenitors express both receptors. This suggests that a significant fraction of the insulin and IGF-1 receptors in the fish retina may exist as hybrids, dimers of insulin and IGF-1 half-receptors. Hybrid receptors are widely distributed in mammalian tissues29 and are expressed in the embryonic retina of birds.30 Hybrid receptors bind IGF-1, but not insulin, with high affinity29 31 (although see Ref. 30 ) and may regulate a tissues sensitivity to insulin by sequestering some IRs in an inactive form.32 Hybrid receptors, if present, represent another level of complexity of insulin-regulated events in the teleost retina.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication March 21, 2001; revised April 18, 2001; accepted May 15, 2001.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Peter F. Hitchcock, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W. K. Kellogg Eye Center, School of Medicine, University of Michigan, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. peterh{at}umich.edu
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