Donald K. Clifton

Bio: Donald K. Clifton is an academic researcher from University of Washington. The author has contributed to research in topics: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone & Luteinizing hormone. The author has an hindex of 68, co-authored 149 publications receiving 20256 citations. Previous affiliations of Donald K. Clifton include United States Department of Veterans Affairs & Oberlin College.

A Role for Kisspeptins in the Regulation of Gonadotropin Secretion in the Mouse

Abstract: Kisspeptins are products of the KiSS-1 gene, which bind to a G protein-coupled receptor known as GPR54. Mutations or targeted disruptions in the GPR54 gene cause hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in humans and mice, suggesting that kisspeptin signaling may be important for the regulation of gonadotropin secretion. To examine the effects of kisspeptin-54 (metastin) and kisspeptin-10 (the biologically active C-terminal decapeptide) on gonadotropin secretion in the mouse, we administered the kisspeptins directly into the lateral cerebral ventricle of the brain and demonstrated that both peptides stimulate LH secretion. Further characterization of kisspeptin-54 demonstrated that it stimulated both LH and FSH secretion, at doses as low as 1 fmol; moreover, this effect was shown to be blocked by pretreatment with acyline, a potent GnRH antagonist. To learn more about the functional anatomy of kisspeptins, we mapped the distribution of KiSS-1 mRNA in the hypothalamus. We observed that KiSS-1 mRNA is expressed in areas of the hypothalamus implicated in the neuroendocrine regulation of gonadotropin secretion, including the anteroventral periventricular nucleus, the periventricular nucleus, and the arcuate nucleus. We conclude that kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling may be part of the hypothalamic circuitry that governs the hypothalamic secretion of GnRH.

Leptin is a metabolic signal to the reproductive system

Abstract: Leptin, a newly-discovered hormonal product of the obese (ob) gene, is expressed by adipocytes and thought to play a role in the regulation of food intake and metabolism. We tested the hypothesis that leptin signals metabolic information to the reproductive system by examining its effects on the reproductive system of ob/ob mice, which have a congenital deficiency in leptin and are infertile. We treated pair-fed males and females with leptin (50 microg twice daily, ip) or vehicle (n=10/group) for 14 days, after which the animals were bled and killed. Leptin-treated females had significantly elevated serum levels of LH, increased ovarian and uterine weights, and stimulated aspects of ovarian and uterine histology compared to controls. Leptin-treated males had significantly elevated serum levels of FSH, increased testicular and seminal vesicle weights, greater seminal vesicle epithelial cell height, and elevated sperm counts compared to controls. These results demonstrate that leptin stimulates the reproductive endocrine system in both sexes of ob/ob mice and suggest that leptin may serve as a permissive signal to the reproductive system of normal animals.

Regulation of Kiss1 gene expression in the brain of the female mouse.

Abstract: The Kiss1 gene encodes a family of neuropeptides called kisspeptins, which activate the receptor G protein-coupled receptor-54 and play a role in the neuroendocrine regulation of GnRH secretion. We examined whether estradiol (E2) regulates KiSS-1 in the forebrain of the female mouse by comparing KiSS-1 mRNA expression among groups of ovary-intact (diestrus), ovariectomized (OVX), and OVX plus E2-treated mice. In the arcuate nucleus (Arc), KiSS-1 expression increased after ovariectomy and decreased with E2 treatment. Conversely, in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), KiSS-1 expression was reduced after ovariectomy and increased with E2 treatment. To determine whether the effects of E2 on KiSS-1 are mediated through estrogen receptor (ER)alpha or ERbeta, we evaluated the effects of E2 in OVX mice that lacked functional ERalpha or ERbeta. In OVX mice that lacked functional ERalpha, KiSS-1 mRNA did not respond to E2 in either the Arc or AVPV, suggesting that ERalpha is essential for mediating the inhibitory and stimulatory effects of E2. In contrast, KiSS-1 mRNA in OVX mice that lacked functional ERbeta responded to E2 exactly as wild-type animals. Double-label in situ hybridization revealed that virtually all KiSS-1-expressing neurons in the Arc and AVPV coexpress ERalpha, suggesting that the effects of E2 are mediated directly through KiSS-1 neurons. We conclude that KiSS-1 neurons in the Arc, which are inhibited by E2, may play a role in the negative feedback regulation of GnRH secretion, whereas KiSS-1 neurons in the AVPV, which are stimulated by E2, may participate in the positive feedback regulation of GnRH secretion.

Activation of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons by Kisspeptin as a Neuroendocrine Switch for the Onset of Puberty

Abstract: We examined the role of kisspeptin and its receptor, the G-protein-coupled receptor GPR54, in governing the onset of puberty in the mouse. In the adult male and female mouse, kisspeptin (10-100 nM) evoked a remarkably potent, long-lasting depolarization of >90% of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-green fluorescent protein neurons in situ. In contrast, in juvenile [postnatal day 8 (P8) to P19] and prepubertal (P26-P33) male mice, kisspeptin activated only 27 and 44% of GnRH neurons, respectively. This developmental recruitment of GnRH neurons into a kisspeptin-responsive pool was paralleled by an increase in the ability of centrally administered kisspeptin to evoke luteinizing hormone secretion in vivo. To learn more about the mechanisms through which kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling at the GnRH neuron may change over postnatal development, we performed quantitative in situ hybridization for kisspeptin and GPR54 transcripts. Approximately 90% of GnRH neurons were found to express GPR54 mRNA in both juvenile and adult mice, without a detectable difference in the mRNA content between the age groups. In contrast, the expression of KiSS-1 mRNA increased dramatically across the transition from juvenile to adult life in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV; p < 0.001). These results demonstrate that kisspeptin exerts a potent depolarizing effect on the excitability of almost all adult GnRH neurons and that the responsiveness of GnRH neurons to kisspeptin increases over postnatal development. Together, these observations suggest that activation of GnRH neurons by kisspeptin at puberty reflects a dual process involving an increase in kisspeptin input from the AVPV and a post-transcriptional change in GPR54 signaling within the GnRH neuron.

Kisspeptin Activation of Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Neurons and Regulation of KiSS-1 mRNA in the Male Rat

Abstract: The KiSS-1 gene codes for a family of neuropeptides called kisspeptins which bind to the G-protein-coupled receptor GPR54. To assess the possible effects of kisspeptins on gonadotropin secretion, we injected kisspeptin-52 into the lateral cerebral ventricles of adult male rats and found that kisspeptin-52 increased the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (p < 0.05). To determine whether the kisspeptin-52-induced stimulation of luteinizing hormone secretion was mediated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), we pretreated adult male rats with a GnRH antagonist (acyline), then challenged the animals with intracerebroventricularly administered kisspeptin-52. The GnRH antagonist blocked the kisspeptin-52-induced increase in luteinizing hormone. To examine whether kisspeptins stimulate transcriptional activity in GnRH neurons, we administered kisspeptin-52 intracerebroventricularly and found by immunocytochemistry that 86% of the GnRH neurons coexpressed Fos 2 h after the kisspeptin-52 challenge, whereas fewer than 1% of the GnRH neurons expressed Fos following injection of the vehicle alone (p < 0.001). To assess whether kisspeptins can directly act on GnRH neurons, we used double-label in situ hybridization and found that 77% of the GnRH neurons coexpress GPR54 mRNA. Finally, to determine whether KiSS-1 gene expression is regulated by gonadal hormones, we measured KiSS-1 mRNA levels by single-label in situ hybridization in intact and castrated males and found significantly higher levels in the arcuate nucleus of castrates. These results demonstrate that GnRH neurons are direct targets for regulation by kisspeptins and that KiSS-1 mRNA is regulated by gonadal hormones, suggesting that KiSS-1 neurons play an important role in the feedback regulation of gonadotropin secretion.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Central nervous system control of food intake

Abstract: New information regarding neuronal circuits that control food intake and their hormonal regulation has extended our understanding of energy homeostasis, the process whereby energy intake is matched to energy expenditure over time. The profound obesity that results in rodents (and in the rare human case as well) from mutation of key signalling molecules involved in this regulatory system highlights its importance to human health. Although each new signalling pathway discovered in the hypothalamus is a potential target for drug development in the treatment of obesity, the growing number of such signalling molecules indicates that food intake is controlled by a highly complex process. To better understand how energy homeostasis can be achieved, we describe a model that delineates the roles of individual hormonal and neuropeptide signalling pathways in the control of food intake and the means by which obesity can arise from inherited or acquired defects in their function.

Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight

Abstract: The capacity to adjust food intake in response to changing energy requirements is essential for survival. Recent progress has provided an insight into the molecular, cellular and behavioural mechanisms that link changes of body fat stores to adaptive adjustments of feeding behaviour. The physiological importance of this homeostatic control system is highlighted by the severe obesity that results from dysfunction of any of several of its key components. This new information provides a biological context within which to consider the global obesity epidemic and identifies numerous potential avenues for therapeutic intervention and future research.