Investigation of the role of Fam163A protein in the production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in GT1-7 cells

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide neuroendocrine hormone. GnRH neurons are detected in the preoptic nucleus region and medial basal hypothalamus. The axons of groups of the GNRH neurons are reached out to the median eminence (ME) and lead to the letting out of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) from the anterior pituitary. LH and FSH affect the ovaries and testes, leading to the release of testosterone and estrogen. Fam163A is a small protein that includes 167 amino acids, and its molecular weight is 18 kDa. Previous studies on Fam163A showed that Fam163A is highly expressed in neuroblastoma tumor tissues and lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues. In a 2009 study, the highest concentration of Fam163A in normal human tissue was found to be in the testicles. In 2023, researchers found that silencing Fam163A downregulates Mfn1, one of the molecules involved in mitochondrial fusion. This study aims to scrutinize the effect of Fam163a knockdown on the expression degree of GnRH in the GT1-7 cell line using QPCR, Cell Counting, and Western Blot methods. Fam163a knockdown changed mRNA expression of GnRH quantity (p<0.05). Fam163A silencing decreased cell survival (p<0.05). Our experiments have shown that Fam163A plays a role in GnRH production and may be involved in mitochondrial activity, contributing to cell proliferation. These results were the first evidence that Fam163A might have a role in the HPG axis.