Chemosynthetic ethanolamine plasmalogen stimulates gonadotropin secretion from bovine gonadotrophs by acting as a potential GPR61 agonist

Brain ethanolamine plasmalogens (EPls) are unique alkenylacyl-glycerophospholipids and the only recognized ligands of G-protein-coupled receptor 61 (GPR61), a newly identified receptor that colocalizes with GnRH receptors on gonadotrophs. As the chemical synthesis of EPl is challenging, only one chemosynthetic EPl, 1-(1Z-octadecenyl)− 2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (PLAPE; C18:0-C18:1), is commercially available. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PLAPE stimulates gonadotropin secretion from bovine gonadotrophs. We prepared anterior pituitary cells from healthy, post-pubertal heifers, cultured for 3.5 d, and then treated them with increasing concentrations (0, 0.5, 5, 50, or 500 pg/mL) of PLAPE for 5 mi, before either no treatment or GnRH stimulation. After 2 h, medium samples were harvested for FSH and LH assays. PLAPE (5–500 pg/mL) stimulated (P