Thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptors (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors (provisional nomenclature as recommended by NC-IUPHAR [13]) are activated by the endogenous tripeptide TRH (pGlu-His-ProNH2). TRH and TRH analogues fail to distinguish TRH1 and TRH2 receptors [28]. [3H]TRH (human, mouse, rat) is able to label both TRH1 and TRH2 receptors with Kd values of 13 and 9 nM respectively. Synthesis and biology of ring-modified L-Histidine containing TRH analogues has been reported [22].

Evolutionarily conserved TRH neuropeptide pathway regulates growth in Caenorhabditis elegans

In vertebrates thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is a highly conserved neuropeptide that exerts the hormonal control of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels as well as neuromodulatory functions. However, a functional equivalent in protostomian animals remains unknown, although TRH receptors are conserved in proto- and deuterostomians. Here we identify a TRH-like neuropeptide precursor in Caenorhabditis elegans that belongs to a bilaterian family of TRH precursors. Using CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAi reverse genetics, we show that TRH-like neuropeptides, through the activation of their receptor TRHR-1, promote growth in C. elegans. TRH-like peptides from pharyngeal motor neurons are required for normal body size, and knockdown of their receptor in pharyngeal muscle cells reduces growth. Mutants deficient for TRH signaling have no defects in pharyngeal pumping or isthmus peristalsis rates, but their growth defect depends on the bacterial diet. In addition to the decrease in growth, trh-1 mutants have a reduced number of offspring. Our study suggests that TRH is an evolutionarily ancient neuropeptide, having its origin before the divergence of protostomes and deuterostomes, and may ancestrally have been involved in the control of postembryonic growth and reproduction.

Fate of Internalized Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptors Monitored with a Timer Fusion Protein

Trafficking of TRH receptors was studied in a stable HEK293 cell line expressing receptor fused to a Timer protein (TRHR-Timer) that spontaneously changes from green to red over 10 h. Cells expressing TRHR-Timer responded to TRH with an 11-fold increase in inositol phosphate formation, increased intracellular free calcium, and internalization of 75% of bound [3H][N3-methyl-His2]TRH within 10 min. After a 20-min exposure to TRH at 37 C, 75–80% of surface binding sites disappeared as receptors internalized. When TRH was removed and cells incubated in hormone-free medium, approximately 75% of [3H][N3-methyl-His2]TRH binding sites reappeared at the surface over the next 2 h with or without cycloheximide. Trafficking of TRHR-Timer was monitored microscopically after addition and withdrawal of TRH. In untreated cells, both new (green) and old (red) receptors were seen at the plasma membrane, and TRH caused rapid movement of young and old receptors into cytoplasmic vesicles. When TRH was withdrawn, some TRHR-Timer reappeared at the plasma membrane after several hours, but much of the internalized receptor remained intracellular in vesicles that condensed to larger structures in perinuclear regions deeper within the cell. Strikingly, receptors that moved to the plasma membrane were generally younger (more green) than those that underwent endocytosis. There was no change in the red to green ratio over the course of the experiment in cells exposed to vehicle. The results indicate that, after agonist-driven receptor internalization, the plasma membrane is replenished with younger receptors, arising either from an intracellular pool or preferential recycling of younger receptors.