New type of POU domain in germ line-specific protein Oct-4

Several decades of improving dairy cattle towards unilateral utilization of dairy cattle led to enormous progress in the field of milk yield; however, it resulted in a number of unfavorable features, such as reproductive disorders, increased calf mortality, and reduced health. Most cases of embryo loss and/or lost pregnancies occur during the first four to five weeks of gestation; accurate detection for pregnancy during this period is likely to contribute to an improvement in gestation rates. A specific protein, interferon-tau (IFNT), stimulates interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), and their expression increases during gestation within 21 days after insemination. In bovines, the early conceptus undergoes a phase of rapid growth and elongation before implantation, the latter occurring 2–3 weeks after fertilization. IFNT acts mainly in the endometrium of the luminal epithelium. It is a new type I interferon that regulates several genes encoding uterine-derived factors. They are crucial in the processes of preparing the uterus for placenta attachment, modifying the uterine immune system, and regulating early fetal development. Because IFNT is expressed and induces ISGs in the endometrium during pregnancy recognition, it was reasoned that surrogate markers for pregnancy or IFNT might be present in the blood and provide an indicator of pregnancy status in cattle.

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A Novel Chromodomain Protein, Pdd3p, Associates with Internal Eliminated Sequences during Macronuclear Development inTetrahymena thermophila

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.20.11.4128-4134.2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 20 (11) ◽

pp. 4128-4134 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Mikhail A. Nikiforov ◽

Martin A. Gorovsky ◽

C. David Allis

Keyword(s):

De Novo ◽

Germ Line ◽

Chromosome Breakage ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Developmentally Regulated ◽

Dna Elimination ◽

Internal Eliminated Sequences ◽

Subsequent Elimination ◽

Rearrangement Processes

ABSTRACT Conversion of the germ line micronuclear genome into the genome of a somatic macronucleus in Tetrahymena thermophila requires several DNA rearrangement processes. These include (i) excision and subsequent elimination of several thousand internal eliminated sequences (IESs) scattered throughout the micronuclear genome and (ii) breakage of the micronuclear chromosomes into hundreds of DNA fragments, followed by de novo telomere addition to their ends. Chromosome breakage sequences (Cbs) that determine the sites of breakage and short regions of DNA adjacent to them are also eliminated. Both processes occur concomitantly in the developing macronucleus. Two stage-specific protein factors involved in germ line DNA elimination have been described previously. Pdd1p and Pdd2p (for programmed DNA degradation) physically associate with internal eliminated sequences in transient electron-dense structures in the developing macronucleus. Here, we report the purification, sequence analysis, and characterization of Pdd3p, a novel developmentally regulated, chromodomain-containing polypeptide. Pdd3p colocalizes with Pdd1p in the peripheral regions of DNA elimination structures, but is also found more internally. DNA cross-linked and immunoprecipitated with Pdd1p- or Pdd3p-specific antibodies is enriched in IESs, but not Cbs, suggesting that different protein factors are involved in elimination of these two groups of sequences.

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The heterochromatin-associated protein HP-1 is an essential protein in Drosophila with dosage-dependent effects on position-effect variegation.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/131.2.345 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 131 (2) ◽

pp. 345-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

J C Eissenberg ◽

G D Morris ◽

G Reuter ◽

T Hartnett

Keyword(s):

Germ Line ◽

Position Effect ◽

Inducible Promoter ◽

Specific Protein ◽

P Element ◽

Position Effect Variegation ◽

Chromosomal Protein ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Position Effects ◽

Effect Variegation

Abstract Chromosome rearrangements which place euchromatic genes adjacent to a heterochromatic breakpoint frequently result in gene repression (position-effect variegation). This repression is thought to reflect the spreading of a heterochromatic structure into neighboring euchromatin. Two allelic dominant suppressors of position-effect variegation were found to contain mutations within the gene encoding the heterochromatin-specific chromosomal protein HP-1. The site of mutation for each allele is given: one converts Lys169 into a nonsense (ochre) codon, while the other is a frameshift after Ser10. In flies heterozygous for one of the mutant alleles (Su(var)2-504), a truncated HP-1 protein was detectable by Western blot analysis. An HP-1 minigene, consisting of HP-1 cDNA under the control of an Hsp70 heat-inducible promoter, was transduced into flies by P element-mediated germ line transformation. Heat-shock driven expression of this minigene results in elevated HP-1 protein level and enhancement of position-effect variegation. Levels of variegating gene expression thus appear to depend upon the level of expression of a heterochromatin-specific protein. The implications of these observations for mechanism of heterochromatic position effects and heterochromatin function are discussed.

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Structure of the murine lck gene and its rearrangement in a murine lymphoma cell line.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.8.3058 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 3058-3064 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

A M Garvin ◽

S Pawar ◽

J D Marth ◽

R M Perlmutter

Keyword(s):

Cell Line ◽

Protein Tyrosine Kinase ◽

Germ Line ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Virus Genome ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Lymphoma Cell ◽

Acceptor Site ◽

Lymphoma Cell Line ◽

Murine Lymphoma

The lck gene encodes a lymphocyte-specific protein-tyrosine kinase that is implicated in neoplastic transformation. We have determined the germ line organization of the murine lck gene and have isolated and characterized a rearranged lck allele in the murine lymphoma cell line LSTRA. The overall exon-intron organization of the normal lck gene is almost identical to that of avian c-src. In LSTRA DNA, an internally rearranged Moloney murine leukemia virus genome is interposed between two distinct promoters that normally generate lck transcripts differing only in 5' untranslated regions. The rearrangement appears to have been selected to permit splicing of transcripts that initiate from the Moloney virus promoter to an acceptor site located within the first exon 3' to the downstream promoter, thus generating an lck mRNA with a novel 5' untranslated region that may be more efficiently translated.

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Synergism with Germ Line Transcription Factor Oct-4: Viral Oncoproteins Share the Ability To Mimic a Stem Cell-Specific Activity

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.19.4.2635 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 2635-2643 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

A. Brehm ◽

K. Ohbo ◽

W. Zwerschke ◽

V. Botquin ◽

P. Jansen-Dürr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Human Papillomavirus ◽

Binding Sites ◽

Germ Line ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Specific Factor ◽

Differentiated Cells ◽

Pou Domain

ABSTRACT Activation of transcription by Oct-4 from remote binding sites requires a cofactor that is restricted to embryonal stem cells. The adenovirus E1A protein can mimic the activity of this stem cell-specific factor and stimulates Oct-4 activity in differentiated cells. Here we characterize the Oct-4–E1A interaction and show that the E1A 289R protein harbors two independent Oct-4 binding sites, both of which specifically interact with the POU domain of Oct-4. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, like E1A, the human papillomavirus E7 oncoprotein also specifically binds to the Oct-4 POU domain. E7 and Oct-4 can form a complex both in vitro and in vivo. Expression of E7 in differentiated cells stimulates Oct-4-mediated transactivation from distal binding sites. Moreover, Oct-4, but not other Oct factors, is active when expressed in cells transformed by human papillomavirus. Our results suggest that different viruses have evolved oncoproteins that share the ability to target Oct-4 and to mimic a stem cell-specific activity.

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Tex19, a Mammalian-Specific Protein with a Restricted Expression in Pluripotent Stem Cells and Germ Line

Stem Cells ◽

10.1634/stemcells.2007-0772 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 734-744 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Sandra Kuntz ◽

Emmanuelle Kieffer ◽

Laurent Bianchetti ◽

Nicolas Lamoureux ◽

Guy Fuhrmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Germ Line ◽

Specific Protein

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AZFa candidate gene UTY and its X homologue UTX are expressed in human germ cells

Reproduction and Fertility ◽

10.1530/raf-20-0049 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Peter H Vogt ◽

Jutta Zimmer ◽

Ulrike Bender ◽

Thomas Strowitzki

Keyword(s):

Germ Cell ◽

Candidate Gene ◽

Y Chromosome ◽

Germ Cells ◽

Protein Interactions ◽

Germ Line ◽

Primordial Germ Cells ◽

Basal Membrane ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Disorders Of Sexual Development

The Ubiquitous Transcribed Y (UTY) AZFa candidate gene on the human Y chromosome and its paralog on the X chromosome, UTX, encode a histone lysine demethylase removing chromatin H3K27 methylation marks at genes transcriptional start sites for activation. Both proteins harbour the conserved Jumonji C (JmjC) domain, functional in chromatin metabolism, and an extended N-terminal tetratrico peptide repeat (TPR) block involved in specific protein-interactions. Specific antisera for human UTY and UTX proteins were developed to distinguish expression of both proteins in human germ cells by immunohistochemical experiments on appropriate tissue sections. In the male germ line, UTY was expressed in the fraction of A spermatogonia located at the basal membrane probably including spermatogonia stem cells. UTX expression was more spread in all spermatogonia and in early spermatids. In female germ line, UTX expression was found in the primordial germ cells of the ovary. UTY was also expressed during fetal male germ cell development, whereas UTX expression was visible only at distinct gestation weeks. Based on these results and the conserved neighboured location of UTY and DDX3Y in Yq11 found in mammals of distinct lineages, we conclude that UTY –like DDX3Y- is part of the Azoospermia factor a (AZFa) locus functioning in human spermatogonia to support the balance of their proliferation-differentiation rate before meiosis. Comparable UTY and DDX3Y expression was also found in gonadoblastoma and dysgerminoma cells found in germ cell nests of the dysgenetic gonads of individuals with disorders of sexual development and a Y chromosome in karyotype (DSD-XY). This confirms that AZFa overlaps with GBY, the Gonadoblastoma susceptibility Y locus, and includes the UTY gene.

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The origins of a novel butterfly wing patterning gene from within a family of conserved cell cycle regulators

10.1101/016006 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicola Nadeau ◽

Carolina Pardo-Diaz ◽

Annabel Whibley ◽

Megan Ann Supple ◽

Richard Wallbank ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Germ Line ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Colour Pattern ◽

Cell Cycle Regulators ◽

Wing Patterns ◽

Female Germ Line ◽

Novel Structures ◽

Major Target

A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand the origins of novel structures. The wing patterns of butterflies and moths are derived phenotypes unique to the Lepidoptera. Here we identify a gene that we namepoikilomousa (poik), which regulates colour pattern switches in the mimeticHeliconiusbutterflies. Strong associations between phenotypic variation and DNA sequence variation are seen in three differentHeliconiusspecies, in addition to associations between gene expression and colour pattern. Colour pattern variants are also associated with differences in splicing ofpoiktranscripts. poik is a member of the conserved fizzy family of cell cycle regulators. It belongs to a faster evolving subfamily, the closest functionally characterised orthologue being thecortexgene inDrosophila, a female germ-line specific protein involved in meiosis.poikappears to have adopted a novel function in the Lepidoptera and become a major target for natural selection acting on colour and pattern variation in this group.

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Structure of the murine lck gene and its rearrangement in a murine lymphoma cell line

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.8.3058-3064.1988 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 3058-3064

Author(s):

A M Garvin ◽

S Pawar ◽

J D Marth ◽

R M Perlmutter

Keyword(s):

Cell Line ◽

Protein Tyrosine Kinase ◽

Germ Line ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Virus Genome ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Lymphoma Cell ◽

Acceptor Site ◽

Lymphoma Cell Line ◽

Murine Lymphoma

The lck gene encodes a lymphocyte-specific protein-tyrosine kinase that is implicated in neoplastic transformation. We have determined the germ line organization of the murine lck gene and have isolated and characterized a rearranged lck allele in the murine lymphoma cell line LSTRA. The overall exon-intron organization of the normal lck gene is almost identical to that of avian c-src. In LSTRA DNA, an internally rearranged Moloney murine leukemia virus genome is interposed between two distinct promoters that normally generate lck transcripts differing only in 5' untranslated regions. The rearrangement appears to have been selected to permit splicing of transcripts that initiate from the Moloney virus promoter to an acceptor site located within the first exon 3' to the downstream promoter, thus generating an lck mRNA with a novel 5' untranslated region that may be more efficiently translated.

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