Chen Gang, Zou Ye, Zhang Xuan, Xu Lingfei, Hu Qiaoyun, Li Ting, Yao Chenjuan, Yu Shali, Wang Xiaoke, Wang Chun
Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, 226007, Jiangsu, China.
Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai, 201508, Shanghai, China.
Cell Biol Int. 2016 Jul;40(7):779-86. doi: 10.1002/cbin.10613. Epub 2016 May 11.
β-actin, a cytoskeletal protein, is the most widely used housekeeping gene. Although housekeeping genes are expressed in all tissues, the β-actin gene is expressed in certain cell types because of differential binding of transcriptional factors to the regulatory elements of the gene. The expression and localization of β-actin protein in the submandibular glands (SMG) of mice were investigated in this study, using Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. In ICR and C57BL/6J mice, the levels of β-actin protein in the SMG of females are significantly higher than those in the SMG of males. β-actin protein is majorly distributed in acinar cells of SMG. There is no significant difference in the expression level of β-actin protein between females and castrated males. After castrated male ICR mice are treated with 10 mg/kg/day testosterone propionate (TP) for 3 weeks, the levels of β-actin protein in SMG decrease. The numbers of duct per unit area increase, whereas the numbers of acinus per unit area decrease after TP administration. These data suggest that β-actin protein is mainly distributed in acinar cells of SMG and results in a marked sexual dimorphism in mice.
β-肌动蛋白是一种细胞骨架蛋白，是最广泛使用的管家基因。尽管管家基因在所有组织中均有表达，但由于转录因子与该基因调控元件的差异结合，β-肌动蛋白基因在某些细胞类型中表达。本研究采用蛋白质免疫印迹分析和免疫组织化学方法，对小鼠颌下腺（SMG）中β-肌动蛋白的表达和定位进行了研究。在ICR和C57BL/6J小鼠中，雌性小鼠颌下腺中β-肌动蛋白的水平显著高于雄性小鼠。β-肌动蛋白主要分布在颌下腺的腺泡细胞中。雌性小鼠和去势雄性小鼠之间β-肌动蛋白的表达水平没有显著差异。去势雄性ICR小鼠每天用10mg/kg丙酸睾酮（TP）处理3周后，颌下腺中β-肌动蛋白水平降低。TP给药后，单位面积的导管数量增加，而单位面积的腺泡数量减少。这些数据表明β-肌动蛋白主要分布在颌下腺的腺泡细胞中，并导致小鼠出现明显的性别差异。
