| Grant number: | 09/02673-7 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Effective date (Start): | September 01, 2009 |
| Effective date (End): | October 31, 2010 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology |
| Principal researcher: | Ana Maria de Lauro Castrucci |
| Grantee: | Maria Nathália de Carvalho Magalhães Moraes Figueira Borges |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 06/03381-1 - Comparative physiology of peripheral clocks: clock genes (CLOCK, PER1, PER2, CRY1 and BMAL 1) and their modulation by light and hormones in fish, amphibians and mammals, AP.TEM |
Abstract The pigment cells of heterothermic vertebrates respond with pigment migration to a variety of agents, including ETs and SRTXs. In teleost fish, ETs e S6c induce pigment aggregation in melanophores, this effect is blocked by ETb antagonists (Fujii et al., 1993; Hayashi et al., 1996; Ramanzini et al., 2006). In amphibians, ET-3 is more potent than ET-1 and ET-2 in promoting pigment granule dispersion in Xenopus laevis and Rana catesbeiana melanophores. Xenopus laevis melanophores are photosensitive, responding to light with melanin granule dispersion, due to the presence of two melanopsins. We aim to determine the temporal pattern of expression of melanopsin (Opn4x and Opn4m) and ETc receptor genes, and their modulation by endothelin-1 in dermal melanophores of X. laevis kept in 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness (12L:12D), in the absence or presence of endothelin-1, by quantitative PCR. (AU) | |