title: Cloning and Characterization of a Nanog Pseudogene in Sika Deer (Cervus nippon).
abstract: Nanog plays a crucial role in the maintenance of stem cell pluripotency. Annual full regeneration of deer antlers has been shown to be a stem cell-based process, and antler stem cells (ASCs) reportedly express Nanog. In the present study, we found that Nanog RNA expressed by ASCs was a pseudogene (Nanog-ps). The coding sequence of Nanog-ps was 93.1% homologous to that of bovine Nanog, but with two missing nucleotides after position 391. Deletion of the two nucleotides in Nanog-ps resulted in a frame-shift mutation, suggesting that Nanog-ps would not encode a normal Nanog protein. Overexpression of Nanog-ps failed to affect downstream genes of Nanog or to enhance cell proliferation in the ASCs. However, this pseudogene was transcribed in the ASCs and encoded a nuclear protein; the expression levels of Nanog-ps were also related to the degree of stemness in antler cells. Here, we reported this pseudogene, because it could serve as a useful marker for identifying ASCs and evaluating the degree of their stemness.
authors.affiliation: 1 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Special Wild Economic Animal and Plant Science , Jilin, China .|2 State Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Special Economical Animals , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jilin, China .
authors.forename: Datao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Special Wild Economic Animal and Plant Science , Jilin, China .
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: 1 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Special Wild Economic Animal and Plant Science , Jilin, China .
authors.forename: Hengxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ba
authors.affiliation: 1 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Special Wild Economic Animal and Plant Science , Jilin, China .|2 State Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Special Economical Animals , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jilin, China .
authors.forename: Chunyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000999:Antlers / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002417:Cattle; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003670:Deer / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016368:Frameshift Mutation; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D011544:Pseudogenes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012038:Regeneration; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger
keywords: Nanog; antler stem cell; deer antler; nuclear protein; stem cell marker