Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
J Cell Sci. 2010 Aug 15;123(Pt 16):2763-72. doi: 10.1242/jcs.066589. Epub 2010 Jul 20.
Maintaining the proximity of centrosomes to nuclei is important in several cellular contexts, and LINC complexes formed by SUN and KASH proteins are crucial in this process. Here, we characterize the presumed Drosophila ortholog of the mammalian SUN protein, sperm-associated antigen 4 (Spag4, previously named Giacomo), and demonstrate that Spag4 is required for centriole and nuclear attachment during spermatogenesis. Production of spag4 mRNA is limited to the testis, and Spag4 protein shows a dynamic pattern of association with the germline nuclei, including a concentration of protein at the site of attachment of the single spermatid centriole. In the absence of Spag4, nuclei and centrioles or basal bodies (BBs) dissociate from each other after meiosis. This role of Spag4 in centriolar attachment does not involve either of the two KASH proteins of the Drosophila genome (Klarsicht and MSP-300), but does require the coiled-coil protein Yuri Gagarin. Yuri shows an identical pattern of localization at the nuclear surface to Spag4 during spermatogenesis, and epistasis studies show that the activities of Yuri and dynein-dynactin are downstream of spag4 in this centriole attachment pathway. The later defects in spermatogenesis seen for yuri and spag4 mutants are similar, suggesting they could be secondary to initial disruption of events at the nuclear surface.
在几种细胞环境中,维持中心体与细胞核的接近度很重要,而 SUN 和 KASH 蛋白形成的 LINC 复合物在这个过程中至关重要。在这里,我们对哺乳动物 SUN 蛋白的假定果蝇同源物,精子相关抗原 4(Spag4,以前称为 Giacomo)进行了表征,并证明 Spag4 在精子发生过程中对中心体和核附着是必需的。spag4mRNA 的产生仅限于睾丸,Spag4 蛋白与生殖细胞核的动态关联模式,包括在单个精子中心体附着部位的蛋白浓缩。在没有 Spag4 的情况下,核和中心体或基体(BB)在减数分裂后彼此分离。Spag4 在中心体附着中的这种作用不涉及果蝇基因组中的两个 KASH 蛋白(Klarsicht 和 MSP-300)之一,但确实需要卷曲螺旋蛋白 Yuri Gagarin。Yuri 在精子发生过程中在核表面的定位与 Spag4 相同,并且上位性研究表明,Yuri 和动力蛋白-动力蛋白复合物的活性在这个中心体附着途径中是 spag4 的下游。yuri 和 spag4 突变体中所见的后期精子发生缺陷相似,这表明它们可能是核表面初始事件破坏的继发结果。