Cell cycle-dependent expression of the mouse Rad51 gene in proliferating cells.

The mouse Rad51 gene is a mammalian homologue of the Escherichia coli recA and yeast RAD51 genes, both of which are involved in homologous recombination and DNA repair in mitosis and meiosis. The expression of mouse Rad51 mRNA was examined in synchronized mouse m5S cells. The Rad51 transcript was observed from late G1 phase through to M phase. During the period of late G1-S-G2, the RAD51 proteins were observed exclusively in nuclei. Activation by mitogens of T cell and B cell proliferation in spleen induced the expression of Rad51 mRNA. By immunohistochemical analyses, in mouse RAD51 protein was detected in proliferating cells: spermatogonia in testis, immature T cells in thymus, germinal center cells of the secondary lymphatic nodules of spleen and intestine, follicle cells in ovary and epithelial cells in uterus and intestine. It was also expressed in spermatocytes during early and mid-prophase of meiosis and in resting oocytes before maturation. Thus, mouse Rad51 expression is closely related to the state of cell proliferation and is presumably involved in DNA repair coupled with DNA replication, as well as in meiotic DNA recombination in spermatocytes.