Lee Gab Sang, Kim Hye Soo, Lee So Hyun, Kang Min Soo, Kim Dae Yong, Lee Chang Kyu, Kang Sung Keun, Lee Byeong Chun, Hwang Woo Suk
Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Mol Reprod Dev. 2005 Nov;72(3):320-8. doi: 10.1002/mrd.20320.
The vasa gene is known to be an important factor for germ cell development in both invertebrates and vertebrates. In the present study, we cloned the porcine vasa homolog (Pvh, 2,172 bps) and investigated its expression at mRNA and protein levels. The isolated cDNA had deduced 724 amino acid residues with significant homology to mouse (85%) and human (91%) vasa. In adult tissues, Pvh transcript was restricted to the ovary and testis, and was undetectable in somatic tissues. During preimplantation embryo development, Pvh was transcribed in oocytes and fertilized 2-cell embryos, but not in other preimplantation embryos. In fetal stage, the transcript of Pvh gene was expressed in all fetal stage, except in day 17-18. Immunohistochemical analysis of fetal and adult gonad revealed that the Pvh protein was localized in oocytes and spermatocytes, consistent with mRNA expression. Interestingly, Pvh protein was also observed in proliferating primordial germ cells (PGCs) and freshly isolated PGCs, but not in embryonic germ cells. Our results suggest that Pvh gene can be a useful marker for germ cell development in pigs.
已知瓦萨基因是无脊椎动物和脊椎动物生殖细胞发育的重要因素。在本研究中,我们克隆了猪的瓦萨同源基因(Pvh,2172个碱基对),并在mRNA和蛋白质水平上研究了其表达情况。分离得到的cDNA推导的氨基酸残基有724个,与小鼠(85%)和人类(91%)的瓦萨基因有显著同源性。在成年组织中,Pvh转录本局限于卵巢和睾丸,在体细胞组织中未检测到。在植入前胚胎发育过程中,Pvh在卵母细胞和受精的2细胞胚胎中表达,但在其他植入前胚胎中不表达。在胎儿阶段,Pvh基因的转录本在除第17 - 18天外的所有胎儿阶段均有表达。对胎儿和成年性腺的免疫组织化学分析表明,Pvh蛋白定位于卵母细胞和精母细胞,与mRNA表达一致。有趣的是,在增殖的原始生殖细胞(PGCs)和新鲜分离的PGCs中也观察到了Pvh蛋白,但在胚胎生殖细胞中未观察到。我们的结果表明,Pvh基因可能是猪生殖细胞发育的一个有用标记。