Characterization of the Mechanism of Inhibin α-Subunit Gene in Mouse Anterior Pituitary Cells by RNA Interference

Inhibin, a member of the transforming growth factor-β [TGF-β] superfamily, is a suppressor of follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH] release through pituitary–gonadal negative feedback loop to regulate follicular development. In this study, Inhibin α-subunit [Inha] gene was knocked down successfully in mice primary anterior pituitary cells at both transcriptional and translational levels by RNAi-Ready pSIREN-RetroQ-ZsGreen Vector mediated recombinant pshRNA vectors. The results indicated that inhibin silencing significantly promoted apoptosis by up-regulating Caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 genes without affecting p53 both at transcriptional and translational levels. Furthermore, it markedly impaired the progression of G1 phase of cell cycle and decreased the amount of cells in S phase [as detected by flow cytometry]. Inhibin silencing resulted in significant up-regulation of mRNA and protein expressions of Gondotropin releasing hormone receptors [GnRHR] and down-regulated mRNA levels of β-glycans with parellel change in the amount of its protein expression. Silencing of inhibin-a significantly increased [P<0.05] activin-β concentration without affecting FSH and LH levels in anterior pituitary cells. These findings revealed that up regulation of GnRH receptors by silencing inhibin a-subunit gene might increase the concentration of activin-β in the culture medium. Inhibin a silencing resulted in increased mRNA and protein expressions of inhibinβ which may demonstrate that both inhibin subunits co-participate in the regulation of reproductive events in anterior pituitary cells. This study concludes that inhibin is a broad regulatory marker in anterior pituitary cells by regulating apoptosis, cellular progression and simultaneously by vital fluctuations in the hormonal signaling.