Effect of estrogen on the expression of mRNAs of different actin isoforms in immature rat uterus. Cloning of alpha-smooth muscle actin message.

Cytoplasmic beta- and gamma-actin mRNAs as well as smooth muscle actin mRNAs have been shown to be transiently increased in rat uterus after treatment with the steroid hormone estradiol. A clone isolated as an estradiol-induced message from a lambda-gt10 cDNA library prepared from the mRNA of estrogen-stimulated immature rat uterus was identified as alpha-smooth muscle actin. A single-stranded RNA probe composed mainly of the 3'-untranslated region of this clone, as well as DNA probes derived from the 3'-untranslated regions of other actin genes, were used to study the induction kinetics of different actin isoforms in rat uterus after being stimulated by estradiol. The beta- and gamma-cytoskeletal actins showed an induction peak at 4 h after estradiol administration with 1.4- and 1.8-fold increases, respectively. The smooth muscle actin was maximally increased 2.1-fold at 8-12 h. Messages of alpha-skeletal and alpha-cardiac actins were neither expressed nor induced by estradiol in this tissue. The different induction kinetics of the cytoplasmic and smooth muscle actins suggest that they are regulated by different mechanisms and possibly in different cell types of the uterus.