Expression of a novel dipeptidyl peptidase 8 (DPP8) transcript variant, DPP8-v3, in human testis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of a novel dipeptidyl peptidase 8 transcript variant (DPP8-v3) gene in testis development and/or spermatogenesis.


METHODS
A human testis cDNA microarray was hybridized with mRNA of human adult and fetal testes. Differentially expressed clones were sequenced and characterized and their expression was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern-blot analysis.


RESULTS
A new transcript variant of the human dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP8), exhibiting a 5-fold higher expression level in human adult than that in fetal testes, was cloned and was named DPP8 variant 3 (DPP8-v3). The full-length sequence of DPP8-v3 was 3,030 bp, encoding a protein of 898 amino acids.


CONCLUSIONS
DPP8-v3 is a novel human DPP8 transcript variant highly expressed in the adult testis. Similar to DPPIV, DPP8-v3 may play a key role in the immunoregulation of testes and accordingly may influence spermatogenesis and male fertility.
Zhu
Hui
H
Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Zhou
Zuo-Min
ZM
Lu
Li
L
Xu
Min
M
Wang
Hui
H
Li
Jian-Min
JM
Sha
Jia-Hao
JH
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004150:Dipeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013737:Testis / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development
D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004150:Dipeptidases; C487997:DPP8 protein, human