CXCL14 immunoreactivity is localized in pituitary GH‐producing cells and in median eminence somatostatin‐containing fibres of the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract

AbstractThis is the first study to examine the distribution of a chemokine CXCL14‐like peptide in the pituitary and hypothalamus of an avian species, the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). We employed immunohistochemical techniques using a specific anti‐human CXCL14 antibody. CXCL14‐immunoreactive cells were detected in the caudal lobe of the pars distalis. CXCL14‐immunoreactive puncta were densely distributed in the external layer and sparsely distributed in the internal layer of the median eminence. CXCL14 staining was absent after pre‐absorption of the antibody with recombinant human CXCL14. All CXCL14‐immunoreactive cells corresponded to growth hormone (GH)‐producing cells in the caudal lobe. In addition, the majority of CXCL14‐immunoreactive puncta in the median eminence corresponded to somatostatin‐containing fibres. CXCL14 secreted from GH‐producing cells and somatostatin‐containing fibres may act as an inhibitor of GH release via an autocrine mechanism and neuroendocrine signalling, respectively.