Cunliffe V, Koopman P, McLaren A, Trowsdale J
Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, London, UK.
EMBO J. 1990 Jan;9(1):197-205. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08096.x.
Zinc finger proteins are polypeptides with sequence-specific, nucleic acid-binding properties. Substantial evidence has established them as a class of trans-acting molecules with regulatory roles in cellular growth and differentiation. We have screened an 11.5 day post coitum urogenital ridge cDNA library with an oligonucleotide encoding a sequence conserved between a variety of zinc finger proteins. By cDNA cloning and sequencing we show that a novel mouse gene, Zfp-35, encodes a protein with a block of 18 zinc finger domains and an N-terminal region rich in acidic residues. The 2.4 kb mRNA encoding this polypeptide is selectively expressed in adult testis, by comparison with other organs. We have analysed Zfp-35 expression in whole testes of sex-reversed mice, whole testes of prepuberal XY animals, germ cell fractions from XY adult testes and by in situ hybridization to sections from adult XY testes. Our studies show that a considerable increase in expression is restricted to spermatocytes at the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase. These experiments suggest that Zfp-35 may act to control gene activity during this particular stage of spermatogenesis.
锌指蛋白是一类具有序列特异性核酸结合特性的多肽。大量证据表明它们是一类在细胞生长和分化中起调节作用的反式作用分子。我们用编码多种锌指蛋白之间保守序列的寡核苷酸筛选了交配后11.5天的泌尿生殖嵴cDNA文库。通过cDNA克隆和测序，我们发现一个新的小鼠基因Zfp - 35，它编码一种具有18个锌指结构域和富含酸性残基的N端区域的蛋白质。与其他器官相比，编码该多肽的2.4kb mRNA在成年睾丸中选择性表达。我们分析了性反转小鼠的整个睾丸、青春期前XY动物的整个睾丸、成年XY睾丸的生殖细胞部分中Zfp - 35的表达，并通过原位杂交分析成年XY睾丸切片。我们的研究表明，表达的显著增加仅限于减数分裂前期粗线期的精母细胞。这些实验表明Zfp - 35可能在精子发生的这个特定阶段控制基因活性。
