title: Cloning, expression analysis, and tissue distribution of esp-1/testisin, a membrane-type serine protease from the rat.
abstract: Esp-1/testisin, a serine protease abundantly expressed in human and mouse testis, is presumed to play an important role in the process of spermatogenesis and fertilization. In this study, we cloned an esp-1/testisin cDNA from rats, and analyzed its expression and tissue distribution. The isolated cDNA consisted of 1099 nucleotides with a single open reading frame encoding 328 amino acids and an expected molecular mass of 36.6 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of rat Esp-1/Testisin had 89% and 62% identity with its murine and human counterparts, respectively, and appeared to be a trypsin-type serine protease with a hydrophobic region at the C-terminus. By quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, rat esp-1/testisin mRNA was predominantly expressed in testis, as in human and mouse. However, its immunohistochemical distribution was predominantly in the elongated spermatids at steps 12 to 19, and not in the primary spermatocytes and round spermatids. This different distribution profile suggests that Esp-1/Testisin plays a role in species-specific proteolytic events during spermatogenesis and fertilization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Yuushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiota
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arase
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kido
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D009928:Organ Specificity; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013087:Spermatids / Q000201:enzymology; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology; D013737:Testis / Q000201:enzymology; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C120203:PRSS21 protein, human; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases