Gallinelli A, Garuti G, Matteo M L, Genazzani A R, Facchinetti F
Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecological Sciences, University of Modena, Italy.
Hum Reprod. 1995 May;10(5):1085-9. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.humrep.a136099.
The high concentration of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides in human follicular fluid, which is several times higher than in plasma, suggested a local expression of the POMC gene. This has previously been observed in the animal ovaries. Peripheral POMC-like mRNAs are not translated in POMC-derived peptides but recent evidence supports the presence of a small amount of full-length transcript in human testes and lymphocytes. The purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses: firstly, that there is a different pattern of POMC mRNA expression in the human ovary of fertile and post-menopausal women, and secondly that there is a tissue-specific localization of POMC transcript. Northern blot analysis showed that a potential relationship exists between POMC gene expression and the reproductive age of a woman, and that POMC mRNA has a tissue-specific localization. The expression of POMC messenger in the ovarian parenchyma collected from women of fertile age and in the germinative follicles appeared higher than that observed in samples from post-menopausal women. No signals were detected in corpora lutea. In conclusion, we believe that the physiological role of the POMC gene in the human ovary remains an unsolved problem, necessitating more sensitive methods of mRNA detection as well as further studies in vitro.
人卵泡液中阿片促黑素皮质素原（POMC）衍生肽的浓度很高，是血浆中的几倍，这表明POMC基因存在局部表达。此前在动物卵巢中已观察到这一现象。外周POMC样mRNA不会被翻译成POMC衍生肽，但最近有证据支持人类睾丸和淋巴细胞中存在少量全长转录本。本研究的目的是检验两个假设：第一，育龄妇女和绝经后妇女的人卵巢中POMC mRNA表达模式不同；第二，POMC转录本存在组织特异性定位。Northern印迹分析表明，POMC基因表达与女性生殖年龄之间存在潜在关系，且POMC mRNA具有组织特异性定位。从育龄妇女收集的卵巢实质和生发卵泡中POMC信使的表达高于绝经后妇女样本中的表达。在黄体中未检测到信号。总之，我们认为POMC基因在人卵巢中的生理作用仍是一个未解决的问题，需要更灵敏的mRNA检测方法以及进一步的体外研究。
