Membrane mechanism of progesterone actions on the rat brain
Ke, Ferng-Chun
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21565
Description
Title
Membrane mechanism of progesterone actions on the rat brain
Author(s)
Ke, Ferng-Chun
Issue Date
1990
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Ramirez, Victor D.
Department of Study
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Discipline
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Biology, Neuroscience
Biology, Animal Physiology
Language
eng
Abstract
P exerts modulatory effects in a variety of physiological functions in discrete brain areas of mammals. It is generally held that actions of stroids in the CNS are mediated via genomic mechanisms. However, there are at least three lines of evidence indicating that a nongenomic mechanism of P's action is also involved. First, P exerts effects on tissue preparations without genomic apparatus. Second, P's effects are insensitive to protein biosynthesis inhibitors. Finally, responses of P's actions on the CNS are more rapid than most documented genomic responses of steroids. There are several advantages of using the P-BSA complex instead of P itself to study the nongenomic action mechanism of P. First, P-BSA is less likely to diffuse freely through the plasma membrane into cytoplasm due to its large size and hydrophilic properties compared to P. Second, the required functional structure of P can be examined by using P-BSA complexes which have BSA conjugated at different positions of the P moiety. Third, radioactive iodide can be introduced in the BSA molecule of the P-BSA complex which can then serve as a probe for membrane binding studies. This thesis research focused in the use of P-BSA instead of free P for studying the membrane mechanism of P's actions in the rat brain. The first part of this thesis demonstrates that BSA conjugated at the position 3 of the P molecule (P-3-BSA) has the same biological activity as P in stimulating LHRH release from hypothalami of female rats in vitro. The second part of this thesis describes a radioligand binding assay for P-BSA which can be used to examine the interaction between P-BSA and its binding sites on plasma membrane of brain cells. The third part of this thesis characterizes further the interaction between P-3-BSA and its binding molecules in an attempt to gain more insights into the membrane mechanism of P action. Finally, the fourth part of this thesis tests the hypothesis that the possible membrane mechanism of P action in the brain is mediated by voltage sensitive calcium channels.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
