1. Detection ofmsj-1 gene expression in the frog,Rana esculenta testis, brain, and spinal cord
- Author
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Giulia Fienga, Rosaria Meccariello, Donatella Scarpa, Gilda Cobellis, Silvia Fasano, Riccardo Pierantoni, Meccariello, R, Cobellis, Gilda, Scarpa, D, Fienga, G, Pierantoni, Riccardo, and Fasano, Silvia
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Gene Expression ,Biology ,Midbrain ,Diencephalon ,Western blot ,Heat shock protein ,Internal medicine ,Testis ,Gene expression ,Genetics ,medicine ,Animals ,Heat-Shock Proteins ,Kidney ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Brain ,Rana esculenta ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,Cell Biology ,HSP40 Heat-Shock Proteins ,Spinal cord ,Spermatozoa ,Cell biology ,Endocrinology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Spinal Cord ,GDF7 ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
MSJ-1 is member of the DnaJ/heat shock protein (Hsp) 40 chaperone protein family. It is present in mouse testis and spinal cord. In particular, MSJ-1 is localized in post-meiotic cells and in motoneurones of the ventral horns. To assess whether the role of this protein is evolutionarily conserved, we have investigated if msj-1 gene is expressed in the frog, Rana esculenta. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a msj-1-like transcript was detected in testis, brain, and spinal cord. Homology ranging from 42.3 to 46.0% was found as compared with the mammalian counterparts. Muscle did not show any signal. By Western blot analysis, a signal of the predicted size of 30 kDa was evidenced in testis, brain, and spinal cord but not in ovary, heart, liver, kidney, and muscle. MSJ-1 fluctuations in the testis reveal that it appeared in concomitance with post-meiotic events during the annual sexual cycle, as shown in a previous study. The protein is localized in spermatids and is still retained in mature spermatozoa, where it has perinuclear and centriolar localization. MSJ-1 levels did not change in brain and spinal cord. Furthermore, in the brain MSJ-1 was mainly present in diencephalon and mesencephalon, while in spinal cord MSJ-1 was localized into several motoneurones of the cervical and thoracic tract. A putative role in vesicle trafficking is briefly discussed. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 68: 149–158, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
- Published
- 2004