title: Basic fibroblast growth factor sense (FGF) and antisense (gfg) RNA transcripts are expressed in unfertilized human oocytes and in differentiated adult tissues.
abstract: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a highly conserved and ubiquitously distributed mitogen. In amphibian oocytes bFGF mRNA is regulated post-transcriptionally by interaction with an antisense RNA transcript. We used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern hybridization to determine the presence of bFGF and its antisense RNA (gfg) in unfertilized human oocytes and postnatal differentiated tissues. BFGF and gfg transcripts were co-expressed in many tissues, with bFGF transcripts (7, 3.7 and 1.8 kb) being more abundant than the gfg transcript (1.5 kb) in 8 of 16 tissues examined. Sense and antisense expression was approximately equal in kidney and colon, while in heart, liver, skeletal muscle and testis gfg transcripts predominated. RT-PCR demonstrated the presence of bFGF and gfg transcripts in unfertilized oocytes where the antisense transcript was present in excess of the sense transcript. These findings suggest a role for gfg in regulation of bFGF expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Knee
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Pitcher
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009866:Oogenesis; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016372:RNA, Antisense; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2