cDNA cloning of androgen-stimulated mRNAs in rat seminal vesicles: partial characterization of newly isolated cDNA clones, pSv-1 and pSv-2.

As the first step in surveying the molecular mechanism of androgen-responsive gene expression in rat seminal vesicles, the effect of androgen on the mRNAs was examined by in vitro translation assay. When the in vitro translation products of mRNAs from castrated animals (48 h) were compared with those from castrated and testosterone-treated animals (48 h) by SDS-PAGE, several discrete bands which were stimulated or repressed in response to androgen were observed in addition to major peptide bands of SVS IV and SVS V. From these findings, we constructed a partial cDNA library from the seminal vesicle poly(A +)RNAs of androgen-treated rats and screened by differential colony hybridization. Two distinct cDNA clones, pSv-1 and pSv-2, whose mRNAs were differentially stimulated in response to androgen and seemed to be expressed specifically in the seminal vesicles, were isolated. pSv-1 and pSv-2 hybridized to mRNAs of 1,600 and 3,500 nucleotides in length, respectively. These cDNA sequences, newly isolated in the present study, may provide useful probes for the study of molecular mechanism of androgen-responsive gene expression.