Novel alternatively spliced mRNA (1c) of the protein kinase A RIα subunit is implicated in haploid germ cell specific expression

• Published in: Molecular reproduction and development Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 11 - 16
• Main Authors: Dahle, Maria K., Reinton, Nils, Ørstavik, Sigurd, Taskén, Kristin A., Taskén, Kjetil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.05.2001; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: 5' Untranslated Regions - genetics; 5′ UTR; Alternative Splicing - genetics; Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Northern; cAMP-dependent protein kinase; Cell Fractionation; Cloning, Molecular; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase RIalpha Subunit; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases - genetics; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Protein Subunits; Rats; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; sertoli cells; sperm; Spermatozoa - cytology; Spermatozoa - metabolism; testis; Testis - cytology; Testis - physiology; Transcription. Transcription factor. Splicing. Rna processing; Sertoli cell; Alternative splicing; Spermatozoa; Rat; Enzyme; Transferases; Rodentia; Germinal cell; Testicle; Gene expression; Male genital system; Vertebrata; Regulation(control); Mammalia; Messenger RNA; Protein kinase
• ISSN: 1040-452X; 1098-2795
• DOI: 10.1002/mrd.1001

By using 5′ RACE on rat testis cDNA we identified three alternatively spliced mRNAs of the RIα subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase that differed in their 5′ untranslated regions. Two of these 5′-regions showed similarity with the human RIα exons 1a and 1b, while the third (1c) constituted a novel mRNA splice variant. Northern blot analysis showed that the 1c mRNA was specifically expressed in testis and only in postmeiotic germ cells. In contrast, the RIα 1b and RIα 1a mRNAs were present both in premeiotic germ cells and somatic cells of the testis, and the expression of both RIα 1a and 1b mRNAs were stimulated by cAMP in Sertoli cells. In sperm, the RIα protein was expressed after meiosis, and targeted to various subcellular structures via anchoring proteins. The RIα 1c haploid-specific mRNA, therefore, may be important for the regulation of RIα expression in sperm. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 59:11-16, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.