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Establishment of a polyclonal antibody against the retinoid X receptor of the rock shell Thais clavigera and its application to rock shell tissues for imposex research

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Abstract

In the chain of study to further elucidate the role of retinoid X receptor (RXR) in the development of imposex caused by organotin compounds in gastropod mollusks, we established a polyclonal antibody against RXR of the rock shell Thais clavigera. Immunoblotting demonstrated that this antibody could recognize T. clavigera RXR. In males and imposex-exhibiting females, immunohistochemical staining with the antibody revealed nuclear localization of RXR protein in the epithelial and smooth muscle cells of the vas deferens and in the interstitial and epidermal cells of the penis. These results suggest that the polyclonal antibody against T. clavigera RXR can specifically recognize RXR protein in tissues of T. clavigera and therefore is useful for evaluating RXR protein localization. Furthermore, RXR may be involved in the induction of male-type genitalia (penis and vas deferens) in normal male and organotin-exposed female rock shells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by grants from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Scientific Research [B], no. 17380121).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Environmental Risk, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Toshihiro Horiguchi, Hiroshi Urushitani & Hiroaki Shiraishi

  2. Department of Bioenviromental Science, Center for Integrated Bioscience, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan

    Taisen Iguchi

  3. Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Koyamacho-Minami, Tottori, Tottori, 680-8553, Japan

    Yasuhiko Ohta

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  1. Toshihiro Horiguchi
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  2. Hiroshi Urushitani
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  5. Hiroaki Shiraishi
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Correspondence to Toshihiro Horiguchi.

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Horiguchi, T., Urushitani, H., Ohta, Y. et al. Establishment of a polyclonal antibody against the retinoid X receptor of the rock shell Thais clavigera and its application to rock shell tissues for imposex research. Ecotoxicology 19, 571–576 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-009-0447-6

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