Alternative splicing and differential expression of P450c17 (CYP17) in gonads during sex transformation in the rice field eel

Several mechanisms were used in determination of the development of the male or female of vertebrates. The genes for determination of sequential hermaphrodite sex are unknown. Here, we reported cloning, alternative splicing, and expression patterns of the CYP17 gene of the rice field eel, a teleost fish with a characteristic of nature sex reversal. The CYP17 gene of the rice field eel was clustered into the CYP17 gene group of all the other vertebrates, especially into the fish subgroup. Four isoforms of the CYP17 were generated in gonads by alternative splicing and polyadenylation. Alternative splicing events of all these isoforms occurred in 3(') regions, which encoded three different sizes (517, 512, and 159aa) of proteins. RT-PCR results indicate specific expression in gonads of these isoforms. Northern blot analysis shows that expression patterns of the CYP17 (dominantly expressed in testis, less in ovary, and the least in ovotestis) are consistent with the sex reversal process of the rice field eel. In situ hybridization further shows its specific expression in germinal lamellae, the gonadal epithelium of the gonads. These findings indicate that CYP17 is differentially regulated in a sex- and developmentally specific manner, suggesting that the CYP17 potentially has important roles in gonad differentiation during sex reversal of the rice field eel.     

Molecular cloning and expression of the osteoclast-stimulating-factor-like gene from the rice field eel

Sexual development in vertebrates is a complex process. Vertebrates use several mechanisms to determine the development of a male or female organism. The genes for determination of sequential hermaphrodite sex are unknown. We identified a homologue of human osteoclast-stimulating factor (OSF) in the rice field eel, a teleost that undergoes natural sex transformation from female, via intersex, to male during its lifetime. The rice field eel OSF-like gene cDNA encoded a peptide of 214 amino acids that contains a c-Src homology 3 domain, proline-rich region, and ankyrin repeats, suggesting potential involvement in cell signaling. The gene was clustered into the OSF gene group of all the other vertebrates. Although expressed in the three kinds of gonads and in other tissues, OSF-like gene expression in gonads of all the three sexes was restricted to the gonadal germinal epithelium, from where bipotential gonia (oogonia or spermatogonia) will differentiate, suggesting that the OSF-like gene may be involved in sexual differentiation, in addition to its other roles as a regulator in development.     

Identification and predominant expression of annexin A2 in epithelial-type cells of the rice field eel

Annexin is the largest family of genes encoding eukaryotic calcium-binding proteins that do not contain the EF hand motif. Annexin A2 has a common annexin core domain, consisting of four so-called annexin repeats, and each of these repeats has about 70 amino acids in length. Here we report identification of annexin A2 from rice field eel by degenerate PCR and RACE techniques. Three-dimensional structure prediction shows that it has similar annexin repeat architecture. Phylogenetic analysis shows that this gene fits with the annexin A2 clade of vertebrates. Subcellular co-localization and co-immunoprecipitation indicated annexin A2 interacted with its ligand S100A10, confirming characteristics of the rice field eel annexin A2. RT-PCR and Western blot results indicate annexin A2 expressed ubiquitously in adult tissues. Immunofluorescence analysis shows obvious immunoreactivity in the nuclear membrane of developing oocytes and base membrane of mature oocytes in ovary and ovotestis. After the gonad differentiates into testis, annexin A2 protein expressed in the site of seminal vesicles epithelium in testis. The results provided a clue to the potential role of annexin A2 in the gonadal differentiation from ovary, via ovotestis to testis of the rice field eel.     

Cloning and Characterization of a Rice Field Eel vasa-Like Gene cDNA and Its Expression in Gonads During Natural Sex Transformation

The vasa (vas)-related gene encodes an RNA helicase protein member of the DEAD-box family and plays key roles in germ-cell formation in higher metazoans. Using degenerate PCR and RACE, we cloned the vasa gene of the rice field eel (Monopterus albus), which is homologous to the Drosophila vasa gene. We named it ma-vas (Monopterus albus vas). Ma-vas encodes a protein of 618 amino acids, which contains all of the known characteristics of vasa homologs. RT-PCR analysis revealed that ma-vas was exclusively expressed in the gonads of the female, intersex, and male. During gonadal natural sex reversal, ma-vas is expressed in oocytes at all stages of oogenesis, in degenerating oocytes of ovotestis, and in spermatogonia and spermatocytes at early stages. The vasa positive signal was also observed in the peripheral layer of late ovary. It was not found, however, in that layer of the testis. Alkaline phosphatase (AKP) staining on the ovary and testis also indicated that some cells had differentiational potential in the peripheral layer of the ovary, suggesting that spermatogonia might arise from cells with AKP and vasa-positive staining in the peripheral layer of the female gonad.     

黄鳝β-actin基因的克隆及其在鱼类中的系统发生分析

β-actin是actin家族的一员,在维持细胞结构,细胞内运动,细胞分裂等细胞生理活动方面发挥着重要的作用。克隆的黄鳝β-actin基因的cDNA全长1860bp,编码375个氨基酸,在脊椎动物中不同物种的β-actin基因之间的序列同源性超过了98％。RT-PCR表明克隆的黄鳝β-actin基因在睾丸、卵巢、心、肝、脾、脑等组织中广谱表达。基于目前已知的全部鱼类β-actin cds,构建了进化树。星形辐射的树型结构一致支持将鱼类β-actin基因划分为4类。到目前为止,所有的鱼都没有发现拥有全部4个β-actin基因。这暗示伴随着鱼类的辐射式进化历程,可能发生了种系特异性的β-actin的丢失。     

Characterization of Androgen Receptor Structure and Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of the Rice Field Eel

Androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in prostate cancer and male sexual differentiation. We have identified AR from a primitive vertebrate with a sex reversal characteristic, the rice field eel. AR of this species (eAR) is distinct from human AR, especially in the ligand binding domain (LBD), and its expression in gonads shows an increasing tendency during gonadal transformation from ovary via ovotestis to testis. eAR has a restricted androgen-dependent transactivation function after a nuclear translocation upon dihydrotestosterone exposure. A functional nuclear localization signal was further identified in the DNA binding domain and hinge region. Although nuclear export is CRM1-independent, eAR has a novel nuclear export signal, which is negatively charged, indicating that a nuclear export pathway may be mediated by electrostatic interaction. Further, our studies have identified critical sequences for ligand binding in the C terminus. A structure of three α-helices in the LBD has been conserved from eels to humans during vertebrate evolution, despite a distinct amino acid sequence. Mutation analysis confirmed that the LBD is essential for dihydrotestosterone-induced nuclear import of eAR and following transactivation function in the nucleus. In addition, eAR interacts with both Sox9a1 and Sox9a2, and their interaction regulates transactivation of eAR. Our data suggest that the primitive species conserves and especially acquires key novel domains, the nuclear export signal and LBD, for the eAR function in spite of a rapid sequence evolution.     

Sexually dimorphic gene expression in the developing mouse gonad

Over the course of a few days, the bipotential embryonic mouse gonad differentiates into either a testis or an ovary. Though a few gene expression differences that underlie gonadal sex differentiation have been identified, additional components of the testicular and ovarian developmental pathways must be identified to understand this process. Here we report the use of a PCR-based cDNA subtraction to investigate expression differences that arise during gonadal sex differentiation. Subtraction of embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5) XY gonadal cDNA with E12.5 XX gonadal cDNA yielded 19 genes that are expressed at significantly higher levels in XY gonads. These genes display a variety of expression patterns within the embryonic testis and encode a broad range of proteins. A reciprocal subtraction (of E12.5 XX gonadal cDNA with E12.5 XY gonadal cDNA) yielded two genes, follistatin and Adamts19, that are expressed at higher levels in XX gonads. Follistatin is a well-known antagonist of TGFbeta family members while Adamts19 encodes a new member of the ADAMTS family of secreted metalloproteases.     

Characterization of the testis in congenitally ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-1 (Uch-L1) defective (gad) mice.

The gracile axonal dystrophy (gad) mice are known to have a deletion within the gene encoding ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-1 (Uch-L1) and show hereditary sensory deterioration and motor paresis. Expression of Uch-L1 is reported to be almost limited to the nervous system and testis. To understand whether Uch-L1, one of the major ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase (UCH) isozymes in the testis, affects spermatogenesis and other UCH isozymes (Uch-L3, L4 and L5) expression in the testis, we compared the testis between gad, hetero and wild type mice by histological, immunohistochemical analyses and RT-PCR. Histological analysis in 25-week-old gad mice showed shrinking of seminiferous tubules, decreasing total number of cells and enlargement of remaining cells in seminiferous tubules. By immunohistochemistry, a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive cells was observed. Expression of other UCH isozyme mRNAs was not apparently affected by Uch-L1 deficiency in 25-week-old gad mice. This study is the first report on the testis of gad mutant mouse.     

黄鳝Nup93基因的分子克隆及其在性腺和肾的显著表达

核孔蛋白（Nucleoporins,Nups）是核孔复合体（Nuclear pore complexes,NPC）的重要组成成分,核孔复合体可以控制细胞内信号分子在核质问的双向转运,从而控制基因表达、细胞增殖和分化。在构建的黄鳝精巢SMART cDNA文库中,采用差异筛选的方法得到黄鳝核孔蛋白家族中Nup93基因的3’端片段,根据此段序列设计引物,使用兼并PCR和5＇RACE方法克隆得到此基因的全长cDNA。序列比对显示该基因与酵母Nic96、斑马鱼Nup93和人类Nup93的同源性分别为36．5％、94．6％和90．5％。进化树分析显示,黄鳝Nup93与其他鱼类的Nup93归为一支。采用荧光定量PCR方法对不同性别黄鳝的性腺和其他组织内该基因的表达作定量分析发现,Nup93在性腺和肾中的表达量远高于其他组织,而且表达量存在一定的性别差异。这一结果提示Nup93可能与性腺发育相关。     

Human RSPO1/R-spondin1 is expressed during early ovary development and augments β-catenin signaling

Human testis development starts from around 42 days post conception with a transient wave of SRY expression followed by up-regulation of testis specific genes and a distinct set of morphological, paracrine and endocrine events. Although anatomical changes in the ovary are less marked, a distinct sub-set of ovary specific genes are also expressed during this time. The furin-domain containing peptide R-spondin1 (RSPO1) has recently emerged as an important regulator of ovary development through up-regulation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway to oppose testis formation. Here, we show that RSPO1 is upregulated in the ovary but not in the testis during critical early stages of gonad development in humans (between 6-9 weeks post conception), whereas the expression of the related genes WNT4 and CTNNB1 (encoding β catenin) is not significantly different between these tissues. Furthermore, reduced R-spondin1 function in the ovotestis of an individual (46,XX) with a RSPO1 mutation leads to reduced β-catenin protein and WNT4 mRNA levels, consistent with down regulation of ovarian pathways. Transfection of wild-type RSPO1 cDNA resulted in weak dose-dependent activation of a β-catenin responsive TOPFLASH reporter (1.8 fold maximum), whereas co-transfection of CTNNB1 (encoding β-catenin) with RSPO1 resulted in dose-dependent synergistic augmentation of this reporter (approximately 10 fold). Furthermore, R-spondin1 showed strong nuclear localization in several different cell lines. Taken together, these data show that R-spondin1 is upregulated during critical stages of early human ovary development and may function as a tissue-specific amplifier of β-catenin signaling to oppose testis determination.     

青虾精(卵)母细胞特有因子Gtsf1基因的克隆及其时空表达分析

为了研究青虾性早熟现象,在实验室构建的青虾精卵巢表达谱中发现一个Gtsf1同源EST序列,采用RACE技术克隆获得青虾Gtsf1基因cDNA序列长349 bp (GenBank登录号: KR349325),开放阅读框(Open reading frame,ORF)为240 bp,编码79个氨基酸。生物信息学分析预测青虾Gtsf1蛋白包含1个zf-U11-48K结构域,并发现该蛋白无信号肽,属于非分泌蛋白。系统进化树分析表明青虾Gtsf1蛋白与昆虫纲的蝽类(Lygus hesperus)亲缘关系最近。组织表达分析结果显示,Gtsf1基因在性腺中表达很高,特别是在卵巢中表达最高(为精巢的6倍),其他组织中表达极低。卵巢不同发育时期表达结果发现,发育初期Gtsf1基因表达水平较低,随着卵巢的发育,该基因的表达水平呈现显著上升趋势(P0.05),在成熟期达到最高峰,在消退期显著下降并恢复到较低水平(P0.05)。胚胎和胚后不同发育时期结果显示,Gtsf1基因在胚胎发育早期表达水平较高,囊胚期时显著升高并达到峰值(P0.05),从原肠期显著下降直至变态后第10天该基因表达水平维持较低水平(P0.05)。以上研究结果表明Gtsf1基因与生殖密切相关,特别是在卵巢发育过程中有关,且呈正相关趋势。同时,Gstf1基因可能主要参与青虾胚胎早期发育的调控。研究首次在甲壳动物中克隆获得Gtsf1基因,并分析Gtsf1基因在青虾中的时空表达模式,研究结果将为进一步研究青虾Gtsf1基因功能和青虾性腺发育调控规律奠定基础,也为其他甲壳动物的生殖相关研究提供参考。     

Molecular Cloning of the Rice Field Eel Nup 93 with Predominant Expression in Gonad and Kidney

Nucleoporins (Nups) are important components of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). NPCs control gene expression, cells proliferation and differentiation by mediating exchange of cellular signal molecules on both nuclear and cytoplasmic sides. Using subtractive screening, 3'end fragment of Nup 93 from the testis cDNA library of the rice field eel was obtained. Full-length cDNA of the gene was further cloned by degenerate PCR and 5'RACE methods. Sequence analysis indicated that the homology of the rice field eel Nup 93 were 36.5% with yeast Nic 96, 94.6% and 90.5% with Nup 93 of zebrafish and human, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the rice field eel Nup 93 fits with Nup 93 of the other fishes. Real-time PCR result showed that expression of Nup 93 in gonads and kidney were much higher than in other tissues, and different expression quantities among gonads of three sexes were also observed, suggesting that Nup 93 may involve in gonad development.     

SRY protein is expressed in ovotestis and streak gonads from human sex-reversal

In mammals, a master gene located on the Y chromosome, the testis-determining gene SRY, controls sex determination. SRY protein is expressed in the genital ridge before testis determination, and in the testis it is expressed in Sertoli and germ cells. Completely sex-reversed patients are classified as either 46,XX males or 46,XY females. SRY mutations have been described in only 15% of patients with 46,XY complete or partial gonadal dysgenesis. However, although incomplete or partial sex-reversal affects 46,XX true hermaphrodites, 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis, and 46,XX/46,XY mosaicism, only 15% of the 46,XX true hermaphrodites analyzed have the SRY gene. Here, we demonstrate that the SRY protein is expressed in the tubules of streak gonads and rete testis, indicating that the SRY protein is normally expressed early during testis determination. Based on these results, we propose that some factors downstream from SRY may be mutated in these 46,XY sex-reversal patients. We have also analyzed SRY protein expression in the ovotestis from 46,XX true hermaphrodites and 46,XX/46,XY mosaicism, demonstrating SRY protein expression in both testicular and ovarian portions in these patients. This suggests that the SRY protein does not inhibit ovary development. These results confirm that other factors are needed for complete testis development, in particular, those downstream of the SRY protein.     

A phenotypic spectrum of sexual development in Dax1 (Nr0b1)-deficient mice: consequence of the C57BL/6J strain on sex determination

Nuclear receptor subfamily 0, group B, member 1 (Nr0b1; hereafter referred to as Dax1) is an orphan nuclear receptor that regulates adrenal and gonadal development. Dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia congenita, critical region on the X chromosome, gene 1 (Dax1) mutations in the mouse are sensitive to genetic background. In this report, a spectrum of impaired gonadal differentiation was observed as a result of crossing the Dax1 knockout on the 129SvIm/J strain onto the C57BL/6J strain over two generations of breeding. Dax1-mutant XY mice of a mixed genetic background (129;B6Dax1(-/Y) [101 total]) developed gonads that were predominantly testislike (n = 61), ovarianlike (n = 27), or as intersex (n = 13). During embryonic development, Sox9 expression in the gonads of 129;B6Dax1(-/Y) mutants was distributed across a wide quantitative range, and a threshold level of Sox9 (>0.4-fold of wild-type) was associated with testis development. Germ cell fate also varied widely, with meiotic germ cells being more prevalent in the ovarianlike regions of embryonic gonads, but also observed within testicular tissue. Ptgds, a gene associated with Sox9 expression and Sertoli cell development, was markedly downregulated in Dax1(-/Y) mice. Stra8, a gene associated with germ cell meiosis, was upregulated in Dax1(-/Y) mice. In both cases, the changes in gene expression also occurred in pure 129 mice but were amplified in the B6 genetic background. Sertoli cell apoptosis was prevalent in 129;B6Dax1(-/Y) gonads. In summary, Dax1 deficiency on a partial B6 genetic background results in further modulation of gene expression changes that affect both Sertoli cell and germ cell fate, leading to a phenotypic spectrum of gonadal differentiation.