Luteinizing Hormone Deficiency and Female Infertility in Mice Lacking the Transcription Factor NGFI-A (Egr-1)

作者：Stephen Lee, Yoel Sadovsky, Alexander H. Swirnoff, Jeffrey A. Polish, Pam Goda, Galina B. Gavrilina, Jeffrey Milbrandt · 发表于：Science · 年份：1996 · DOI：10.1126/science.273.5279.1219 · 被引用次数：484 · 研究领域：Nuclear Receptors and Signaling、Reproductive System and Pregnancy、Reproductive Biology and Fertility

The immediate-early transcription factor NGFI-A (also called Egr-1, zif/268, or Krox-24) is thought to couple extracellular signals to changes in gene expression. Although activins and inhibins regulate follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) synthesis, no factor has been identified that exclusively regulates luteinizing hormone (LH) synthesis. An analysis of NGFI-A-deficient mice derived from embryonic stem cells demonstrated female infertility that was secondary to LH-beta deficiency. Ovariectomy led to increased amounts of FSH-beta but not LH-beta messenger RNA, which suggested a pituitary defect. A conserved, canonical NGFI-A site in the LH-beta promoter was required for synergistic activation by NGFI-A and steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1). NGFI-A apparently influences female reproductive capacity through its regulation of LH-beta transcription.