Thyroid hormones (TH) and glucocorticoids (GC) are involved in numerous developmental and physiological processes. The effects of individual hormones are well documented, but little is known about the joint actions of the two hormones. To decipher the crosstalk between these two hormonal pathways, we conducted a transcriptional analysis of genes regulated by TH, GC, or both hormones together in liver of Xenopus tropicalis tadpoles using RNA-Seq. Among the differentially expressed genes (DE), 70.5% were regulated by TH only, 0.87% by GC only, and 15% by crosstalk between the two hormones. Gene ontology analysis of the crosstalk-regulated genes identified terms referring to DNA replication, DNA repair, and cell-cycle regulation. Biological network analysis identified groups of genes targeted by the hormonal crosstalk and corroborated the gene ontology analysis. Specifically, we found two groups of functionally linked genes (chains) mainly composed of crosstalk-regulated hubs (highly interactive genes), and a large subnetwork centred around the crosstalk-regulated genes psmb6 and cdc7. Most of the genes in the chains are involved in cell-cycle regulation, as are psmb6 and cdc7, which regulate the G2/M transition. Thus, the biological action of these two hormonal pathways acting together in the liver targets cell-cycle regulation.
Keywords: Xenopus tropicalis; glucocorticoid; hormonal crosstalk; metamorphosis; thyroid hormone.