CAREER: Funtional and Structural Evolution of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone

职业：促性腺激素释放激素的功能和结构进化

• 批准号: 9733237
• 负责人: Pei-San Tsai
• 金额: $ 8.71万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-04-01 至 1999-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9733237&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Funtional; Structural; Evolution; Gonadotropin

9733237 Tsai Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is central to the initiation and maintenance of reproduction in vertebrates. It stimulates the release of two hormones from the pituitary that directly regulate the growth of ovaries and testes and the production of sex steroid hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone. Defects in GnRH production and/or release will invariably lead to sterility. Despite this hormone's importance in the reproduction of vertebrates, very little is known about when GnRH originally arose in evolution and when it began to assume the role of a central reproductive regulator. Dr. Tsai has shown that GnRH-like molecules exist in a protostome, Aplysia californica. The evolutionary implication of these results is extremely exciting since it suggest that GnRH may have already been present in a primitive invertebrate ancestor that gave rise to diverse group of vertebrates and invertebrates. Such extraordinary conservation over the course of evolution opens up the door to many possibilities regarding the functional roles that GnRH had assumed over the course of evolution. Dr. Tsai will integrative molecular, physiological and evolutionary approaches to examine structural and functional conservation of GnRH. As part of this CAREER award, she will use the same multidisciplinary approach to design a new laboratory course on comparative reproductive biology. Moreover, Dr. Tsai will actively recruit students interested in addressing evolutionary questions with molecular techniques from regional campuses to initiate research projects. The information gained from her research program will have profound implications concerning how the system of reproductive regulation presently seen in humans and other vertebrates has evolved over many millions of years.

9733237 Tsai 促性腺激素释放激素 (GnRH) 对于脊椎动物生殖的启动和维持至关重要。 它刺激垂体释放两种激素，直接调节卵巢和睾丸的生长以及雌激素和睾酮等性类固醇激素的产生。 GnRH 产生和/或释放的缺陷必然会导致不育。 尽管这种激素在脊椎动物的繁殖中很重要，但人们对 GnRH 最初在进化中何时出现以及何时开始承担中央生殖调节剂的作用知之甚少。 蔡博士已经证明 GnRH 样分子存在于原生动物加州海兔中。 这些结果的进化意义非常令人兴奋，因为它表明 GnRH 可能已经存在于原始无脊椎动物祖先中，从而产生了不同的脊椎动物和无脊椎动物群体。 进化过程中这种非凡的保守性为 GnRH 在进化过程中所扮演的功能角色打开了许多可能性的大门。 蔡博士将综合分子、生理和进化方法来研究 GnRH 的结构和功能保守性。 作为职业奖的一部分，她将使用相同的多学科方法设计一门新的比较生殖生物学实验室课程。 此外，蔡博士还将积极从地区校园招募有兴趣用分子技术解决进化问题的学生来启动研究项目。 从她的研究项目中获得的信息将对人类和其他脊椎动物目前的生殖调节系统如何进化数百万年产生深远的影响。