Identification and characterization of reproductive KRAB-ZF genes in mice
The mammalian genome contains numerous genes encoding transcription factors that contain Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) and C2H2-type zinc finger (ZF) motifs (KRAB-ZF). In the present study, we identified KRAB-ZF genes expressed in the mouse testis or ovary, and selected three genes that exhibit gona...
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Published in | Gene Vol. 565; no. 1; pp. 45 - 55 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Elsevier B.V
01.07.2015
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The mammalian genome contains numerous genes encoding transcription factors that contain Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) and C2H2-type zinc finger (ZF) motifs (KRAB-ZF). In the present study, we identified KRAB-ZF genes expressed in the mouse testis or ovary, and selected three genes that exhibit gonad-specific or gonad-predominant expression. In vitro analyses showed that these gonadal KRAB-ZF proteins are localized in cell nuclei and are able to repress transcriptional activity. We further analyzed one of the gonad-specific reproductive genes, Zfp819, and found that it is expressed exclusively in spermatogenic cells. Overexpression of Zfp819 suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. Microarray analysis of Zfp819-overexpressing cells allowed us to identify numerous, potential target genes. A number of the down-regulated genes were found to show gene expression levels inversely correlated with Zfp819 during spermatogenesis. Some of the down-regulated genes were previously reported to play significant roles in spermatogenesis and apoptosis. Collectively, our study provides the first comprehensive information regarding the expression of reproductive KRAB-ZF genes in mice and reveals potential functions of Zfp819.
•We systematically identified KRAB-ZF genes expressed in the mouse gonads.•Zfp819 is expressed specifically in spermatogenic cells.•Overexpression of Zfp819 affected cell proliferation and induced apoptosis.•Microarray analysis identified numerous Zfp819-downstream genes having potential functions in spermatogenesis and apoptosis. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0378-1119 1879-0038 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.gene.2015.03.059 |