Cellular distribution of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor in human reproductive system and breast and prostate cancers
R. Gallego1, E. Pintos2, T. García-Caballero1, K. Raghay1, L. Boulanger3, A. Beiras1, P. Gaudreau3 and G. Morel4
1Department of Morphological Sciences and 2Pathology (E.P.), School of Medicine, Santiago de Compostela, Spain and 3Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of aging, CHUM Research Center, Notre-Dame Hospital and Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canadá and 4CNRS UMR 5123, Claude Bernard-Lyon-I University, Villeurbanne, France
Offprint requests to: Prof. Rosalia Gallego Gómez, Department of Morphologic Sciences, School of Medicine, San Francisco s/n, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. e-mail: cmrgalle@usc.es
Summary. Growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (GHRH-R) mRNA and protein was first localized to the anterior pituitary gland, consequent with the action of its ligand on GH synthesis and release. Subsequent studies found GHRH-R also expressed in the hypothalamus and in systemic tissues including those of the reproductive system. In the present work, we studied the distribution of GHRH-R in human reproductive system of males and females by immunohistochemical method. GHRH-R immunostaining was localized in male reproductive system: Leydig cells, Sertoli and basal germ cells of the seminiferous tubules and prostate secretory cells. GHRH-R immunostaining was also demonstrated in the ovary: oocytes, follicular cells, granulosa, thecal and corpus luteum cells. Endometrial glands, placenta and normal mammary glands also showed GHRH-R immunostaining. Our results demonstrate the localization of GHRH-R in the reproductive system, which may mediate the direct action of GHRH in these tissues. Moreover, GHRH-R was demonstrated in prostate and breast carcinomas, opening a variety of possibilities for the use of GHRH antagonists in the treatment of prostatic and mammary tumors. Histol Histopathol 20, 697-706 (2005)
Key words: GHRH receptor, Reproductive system, Cancer, Human
DOI: 10.14670/HH-20.697