Remington Susann G, Nelson J Daniel
HealthPartners Research Foundation, HealthPartners Medical Group and Clinics, St. Paul, MN 55101, USA.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 Jan;46(1):31-8. doi: 10.1167/iovs.04-0216.
This study was conducted to seek sex differences in mRNA expression in normal mouse lacrimal glands. Gene expression differences in the lacrimal gland may contribute to susceptibility to lacrimal gland or ocular surface disease.
A differential display analysis was performed on poly(A)+ RNA isolated from male and female Swiss Webster mouse exorbital lacrimal glands. Four potential gender-specific products were subcloned and sequenced. Full-length cDNAs of each product were obtained using RACE-PCR. 32P-labeled fragments of each clone were hybridized to a blot of male and female mouse poly(A)+ RNA isolated from harderian, lacrimal, submandibular, sublingual, and parotid glands and the liver.
GenBank database alignments indicated that the four clones were members of the secretoglobin family. The most closely related sequences were the mouse salivary androgen-binding protein (ABP) subunits alpha, beta, and gamma. We named the four lacrimal clones the delta, epsilon, zeta, and eta subunits of ABP. Northern blot analysis showed that mRNAs for each of these four ABP subunits were lacrimal-gland-specific. The delta and zeta subunits of ABP were expressed primarily in male mouse lacrimal gland.
Sequence attributes predict that the ABP subunits expressed in lacrimal glands comprise proteins that are secreted in tears. These data imply compositional differences in ABPs secreted by mouse lacrimal and submandibular glands, and in ABPs secreted by male and female mouse lacrimal glands.
本研究旨在探寻正常小鼠泪腺中mRNA表达的性别差异。泪腺中的基因表达差异可能导致泪腺或眼表疾病易感性的不同。
对从雄性和雌性瑞士韦伯斯特小鼠眶外泪腺分离得到的poly(A)+ RNA进行差异显示分析。将四个潜在的性别特异性产物进行亚克隆并测序。使用RACE-PCR获得每个产物的全长cDNA。将每个克隆的32P标记片段与从哈德氏腺、泪腺、下颌下腺、舌下腺、腮腺和肝脏分离得到的雄性和雌性小鼠poly(A)+ RNA印迹杂交。
GenBank数据库比对表明，这四个克隆是分泌球蛋白家族的成员。最密切相关的序列是小鼠唾液雄激素结合蛋白（ABP）的α、β和γ亚基。我们将这四个泪腺克隆命名为ABP的δ、ε、ζ和η亚基。Northern印迹分析表明，这四个ABP亚基的mRNA均为泪腺特异性。ABP的δ和ζ亚基主要在雄性小鼠泪腺中表达。
序列特征预测泪腺中表达的ABP亚基构成了泪液中分泌的蛋白质。这些数据表明小鼠泪腺和下颌下腺分泌的ABP以及雄性和雌性小鼠泪腺分泌的ABP在组成上存在差异。
