Identification and characterization of the BGR-like gene with a potential role in human testicular development/spermatogenesis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the roles of the BGR-like gene in testicular development/spermatogenesis.


METHODS
A human testis cDNA microarray was hybridized with probes from human adult testes and embryo testes. The differentially expressed clones were sequenced and analyzed. Expression of the BGR-like gene was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).


RESULTS
A new gene exhibiting 50-fold difference in expression level between adult and fetal human testes was cloned and named the BGR-like gene. The cDNA consisted of 2500 nucleotides and had an open reading frame of 1437 nucleotides encoding a putative protein of 497 amino acid residues. Homologous comparison showed that the BGR-like gene was a new alternative splicing variant of the BGR gene and had sequence homology with the bubblegum gene of human, mouse, rat and Drosophila. Protein motif analysis of the BGR-like gene revealed that it contained a conserved adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-binding domain and a fatty acyl-CoA synthetase signature motif which existed in all acyl-CoA synthetases. The BGR-like gene transcript was imperceptibly expressed in human fetal testes, highly in human adult testes and moderately in elderly testes and human Leydig cells. RT-PCR-based tissue distribution experiments showed that the BGR-like gene was exclusively expressed in testes and was a testes-specific isoform of the BGR gene. A BGR-like gene transcript was not detected in some azoospermic testes.


CONCLUSIONS
The BGR-like gene may play an important role in spermatogenesis/testicular development and may be correlated with male infertility.
Zheng
Ying
Y
Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Zhou
Zuo-Min
ZM
Min
Xu
X
Li
Jian-Ming
JM
Sha
Jia-Hao
JH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003066:Coenzyme A Ligases / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics*; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D003066:Coenzyme A Ligases; C119746:bgm protein, Drosophila