Dioxin induces a novel nuclear factor, DIF-3, that is implicated in spermatogenesis.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD; dioxin), a member of a class of environmental pollutants represented by polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, is one of the most toxic artificial compounds ever developed. In this study, we identified a novel TCDD target gene, DIF-3 (dioxin inducible factor-3), by cDNA representational difference analysis. DIF-3 protein is a nuclear factor and possesses a zinc-finger motif at its N-terminus. High DIF-3 mRNA expression in the testes was demonstrated by Northern blot analysis and abundant DIF-3 protein was detected during spermatogenesis. Thus, these results suggest that DIF-3 may be a target gene mediating the reproductive toxicity induced by TCDD.
Ohbayashi
T
T
Department of Pathology, Tokyo Medical University, Japan.
Oikawa
K
K
Iwata
R
R
Kameta
A
A
Evine
K
K
Isobe
T
T
Matsuda
Y
Y
Mimura
J
J
Fujii-Kuriyama
Y
Y
Kuroda
M
M
Mukai
K
K
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002460:Cell Line; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D013234:Stem Cells; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D016335:Zinc Fingers
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D012333:RNA, Messenger