The prothymosin alpha gene is specifically expressed in ectodermal and mesodermal regions during early postimplantation mouse embryogenesis.
Prothymosin alpha (ProT alpha) is a highly acidic nuclear protein, once believed to have an extracellular immunoregulatory role but more recently implicated in cell proliferation and/or differentiation. Several recent studies have revealed that ProT alpha mRNA is present during embryogenesis. However, these studies did not investigate the spatial distribution of ProT alpha mRNA in the embryo. Here we present a detailed study of the spatial distribution of ProT alpha mRNA during the early stages of postimplantation development (6.5-12.5 dpc) of the mouse. Three findings are of particular interest. First, ProT alpha mRNA levels increase during the early postimplantation stages (6.5-8.5 dpc) of mouse embryogenesis. Second, ProT alpha mRNA is not uniformly distributed in the mouse embryo, but is present in a spatially specific manner. Third, we have observed that the mouse ProT alpha gene is expressed almost exclusively in ectodermal and mesoderm-derived structures, and not in cells which give rise to the definitive endoderm.
Departamento de Bioquímica e Bioloxía Molecular, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
F
F
Franco del Amo
M
M
Freire
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000378:metabolism*; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D013947:Thymosin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000235:genetics
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011498:Protein Precursors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C040782:prothymosin alpha; D013947:Thymosin