scholarly journals Expression of a Novel, Sterol-Insensitive Form of Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 2 (SREBP2) in Male Germ Cells Suggests Important Cell- and Stage-Specific Functions for SREBP Targets during Spermatogenesis

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (24) ◽  
pp. 8478-8490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Wang ◽  
Feng Liu ◽  
Clarke F. Millette ◽  
Daniel L. Kilpatrick

ABSTRACT Cholesterol biosynthesis in somatic cells is controlled at the transcriptional level by a homeostatic feedback pathway involving sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs). These basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-Zip proteins are synthesized as membrane-bound precursors, which are cleaved to form a soluble, transcriptionally active mature SREBP that regulates the promoters for genes involved in lipid synthesis. Homeostasis is conferred by sterol feedback inhibition of this maturation process. Previous work has demonstrated the expression of SREBP target genes in the male germ line, several of which are highly up-regulated during specific developmental stages. However, the role of SREBPs in the control of sterol regulatory element-containing promoters during spermatogenesis has been unclear. In particular, expression of several of these genes in male germ cells appears to be insensitive to sterols, contrary to SREBP-dependent gene regulation in somatic cells. Here, we have characterized a novel isoform of the transcription factor SREBP2, which is highly enriched in rat and mouse spermatogenic cells. This protein, SREBP2gc, is expressed in a stage-dependent fashion as a soluble, constitutively active transcription factor that is not subject to feedback control by sterols. These findings likely explain the apparent sterol-insensitive expression of lipid synthesis genes during spermatogenesis. Expression of a sterol-independent, constitutively active SREBP2gc in the male germ line may have arisen as a means to regulate SREBP target genes in specific developmental stages. This may reflect unique roles for cholesterol synthesis and other functional targets of SREBPs during spermatogenesis.

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pei-Cheng Lin ◽  
Ming-Yu Chang ◽  
Bo-Yie Chen ◽  
Han-Hsin Chang

Research using stem cells has several applications in basic biology and clinical medicine. Recent advances in the establishment of male germ line stem cells provided researchers with the ability to identify, isolate, maintain, expand and differentiate the spermatogonia, the primitive male germ cells, as cell lines under in vitro conditions. The ability to culture and manipulate stem cell lines from male germ cells has gradually facilitated research into spermatogenesis and male infertility, to an extent beyond that facilitated by the use of somatic stem cells. After the introduction of exogenous genes, the spermatogonial cells can be transplanted into the seminiferous tubules of recipients, where the transplanted cells can contribute to the offspring. The present review concentrates on the origin, life cycle and establishment of stem cell lines from male germ cells, as well as the current status of transplantation techniques and the application of spermatogonial stem cell lines.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Vogt ◽  
M-A. Rauschendorf ◽  
J. Zimmer ◽  
C. Drummer ◽  
R. Behr

Abstract Translational control is a major level of gene expression regulation in the male germ line. DDX3Y located in the AZFa region of the human Y chromosome encodes a conserved RNA helicase important for translational control at the G1-S phase of the cell cycle. In human, DDX3Y protein is expressed only in premeiotic male germ cells. In primates, DDX3Y evolved a second promoter producing novel testis-specific transcripts. Here, we show primate species-specific use of alternative polyadenylation (APA) sites for the testis-specific DDX3Y transcript variants. They have evolved first in the 3´UTRs of primate DDX3Y transcripts. A distal APA site is used for polyadenylation of DDX3Y testis transcripts in Callithrix jacchus; two proximal APAs in Macaca mulatta, in Pan trogloydates and in human. This shift corresponds with a significant increase of DDX3Y protein expression in the macaque testis and kidney tissue. In chimpanzee and human, shift to predominant use of the most proximal APA site is associated with translation of these DDX3Y transcripts in only premeiotic male germ cells. We therefore assume evolution of a positive selection process for functional DDX3Y testis transcripts in these primates to promote increase of their stability and balancing translation efficiency especially in the male germ line.


2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
S. Rodriguez-Acebes ◽  
J. Martinez-Botas ◽  
A. Davalos ◽  
M.A. Lasuncion ◽  
R.B. Rawson ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 2605-2616 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A. Nafikov ◽  
J.P. Schoonmaker ◽  
K.T. Korn ◽  
K. Noack ◽  
D.J. Garrick ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Capel ◽  
Gaëlle Rolland-Valognes ◽  
Catherine Dacquet ◽  
Manuel Brun ◽  
Michel Lonchampt ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2358-2364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Tréguier ◽  
Chantal Doucet ◽  
Martine Moreau ◽  
Christiane Dachet ◽  
Joëlle Thillet ◽  
...  

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2925-2932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z F Zakeri ◽  
D J Wolgemuth ◽  
C R Hunt

A unique member of the mouse HSP70 gene family has been isolated and characterized with respect to its DNA sequence organization and expression. The gene contains extensive similarity to a heat shock-inducible HSP70 gene within the coding region but diverges in both 3' and 5' nontranslated regions. The gene does not yield transcripts in response to heat shock in mouse L cells. Rather, the gene appears to be activated uniquely in the male germ line. Analysis of RNA from different developmental stages and from enriched populations of spermatogenic cells revealed that this gene is expressed during the prophase stage of meiosis. A transcript different in size from the major heat-inducible mouse transcripts is most abundant in meiotic prophase spermatocytes and decreases in abundance in postmeiotic stages of spermatogenesis. This pattern of expression is distinct from that observed for another member of this gene family, which was previously shown to be expressed abundantly in postmeiotic germ cells. These observations suggest that specific HSP70 gene family members play distinct roles in the differentiation of the germ cell lineage in mammals.


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