McGrath S A, Esquela A F, Lee S J
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Mol Endocrinol. 1995 Jan;9(1):131-6. doi: 10.1210/mend.9.1.7760846.
Growth/differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) is a previously described member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily expressed specifically in the ovary in adult mice. Using in situ hybridization methods, we have localized the expression of GDF-9 messenger RNA (mRNA) exclusively to oocytes. GDF-9 mRNA was detected in oocytes at all stages of follicular development, except in primordial follicles, in both neonatal and adult ovaries. GDF-9 mRNA continued to be expressed in oocytes after ovulation, but disappeared by 1.5 days after fertilization. Based on Western analysis of ovarian extracts using antibodies raised against recombinant GDF-9 protein, GDF-9 mRNA expressed by oocytes appears to be translated. A human homolog of GDF-9 was isolated from a complementary DNA library prepared from adult ovary mRNA. The predicted human protein is 90% identical to murine GDF-9 in the mature portion of the molecule. These results are significant because no other growth factor-like molecules have been shown to be expressed specifically by oocytes and, together with results of previous studies, suggest that ovarian development and function are regulated by factors produced by both oocytes and support cells of the ovary.
生长/分化因子9（GDF-9）是先前已描述的转化生长因子-β超家族的成员，在成年小鼠卵巢中特异性表达。运用原位杂交方法，我们已将GDF-9信使核糖核酸（mRNA）的表达定位在卵母细胞中。在新生和成年卵巢中，除原始卵泡外，在卵泡发育的各个阶段的卵母细胞中均检测到GDF-9 mRNA。排卵后，卵母细胞中继续表达GDF-9 mRNA，但在受精后1.5天消失。基于使用针对重组GDF-9蛋白产生的抗体对卵巢提取物进行的蛋白质印迹分析，卵母细胞表达的GDF-9 mRNA似乎被翻译了。从成年卵巢mRNA制备的互补DNA文库中分离出GDF-9的人类同源物。预测的人类蛋白质在分子的成熟部分与鼠类GDF-9有90%的同一性。这些结果意义重大，因为尚未显示有其他生长因子样分子由卵母细胞特异性表达，并且与先前的研究结果一起表明，卵巢的发育和功能受卵母细胞和卵巢支持细胞产生的因子调节。
