Characterization of Histone H2A.X Expression in Testis and Specific Labeling of Germ Cells at the Commitment Stage of Meiosis with Histone H2A.X Promoter-Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein Transgene

• Published in: Biology of reproduction Vol. 69; no. 4; pp. 1325 - 1329
• Main Authors: TADOKORO, Yuko, YOMOGIDA, Kentaro, YAGURA, Yo, YAMADA, Shuichi, OKABE, Masaru, NISHIMUNE, Yoshitake
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison, WI Society for the Study of Reproduction 01.10.2003
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Line; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes, Reporter; Genetic Engineering - methods; Green Fluorescent Proteins; Histones - genetics; Hormone metabolism and regulation; Luciferases - genetics; Luciferases - metabolism; Luminescent Proteins - genetics; Male; Mammalian male genital system; Meiosis; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic - genetics; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Spermatogonia - cytology; Spermatogonia - physiology; Testis - cytology; Testis - physiology; Transfection; Vertebrates: reproduction; Histone H2A; Spermatogenesis; Rodentia; Transgenic animal; Meiosis; Gene expression; Testicle; Male genital system; In vitro; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Germ line; Green fluorescent protein
• ISSN: 0006-3363; 1529-7268
• DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.103.018952

To study the complex molecular mechanisms of mammalian spermatogenesis, it would be useful to be able to isolate cells at each stage of differentiation, especially at the stage in which the cells switch from mitosis to meiosis. Currently, no useful marker proteins or gene promoters specific to this important stage are known. We report here a transgenic mouse line that under the control of the promoter for a histone variant, H2A.X, expressed an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in cells at the stage of the mitosis-meiosis switch. Endogenous H2A.X is expressed in type A spermatogonia through meiotic prophase spermatocytes in testis and in some somatic cells. However, despite the fact that its expression was driven by the H2A.X promoter, the EGFP expressed in the transgenic mice specifically labeled only the intermediate spermatogonia stage through the meiotic prophase spermatocyte stage in transgenic mice containing the −600-base pair H2A.X promoter/EGFP construct. Type A spermatogonia and somatic cells of other organs were not labeled. This expression pattern made it possible to isolate living cells from the testis of the transgenic mice at the stage of the mitosis-meiosis switch in spermatogenesis using EGFP fluorescence.