Expression and Functional Characterization of the Adhesion Molecule Spermatogenic Immunoglobulin Superfamily in the Mouse Testis1
Open Access
- 1 May 2003
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Biology of Reproduction
- Vol. 68 (5), 1755-1763
- https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.102.012344
Abstract
Spermatogenic immunoglobulin superfamily (SgIGSF) is a mouse protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily expressed in the spermatogenic cells of seminiferous tubules. We produced a specific polyclonal antibody against SgIGSF. Western blot analysis of the testes from postnatal developing mice using this antibody demonstrated multiple immunopositive bands of 80–130 kDa, which increased in number and size with the postnatal age. Enzymatic N-glycolysis caused reduction in the size of these bands to 70 kDa, indicating that SgIGSF is a glycoprotein and its glycosylation pattern and extent are developmentally regulated. Immunohistochemical analysis of the adult testis demonstrated that SgIGSF was present in the spermatogenic cells in the earlier steps of spermatogenesis and increased in amount from intermediate spermatogonia through zygotene spermatocytes but was diminished in the steps from early pachytene spermatocytes through round spermatids. After meiosis, SgIGSF reappeared in step 7 spermatids and was present in the elongating spermatids until spermiation. The immunoreactivity was localized primarily on the cell membrane. Consistent with the findings in adult testes, the analysis of the developing testes revealed that SgIGSF was expressed separately in the spermatogenic cells in earlier and later phases. Sertoli cells had no expression of SgIGSF, whereas both SgIGSF immunoprecipitated from the testis lysate and produced in COS-7 cells was shown to bind to the surface of Sertoli cells in primary culture. These results suggested that SgIGSF on the surface of spermatogenic cells binds to some membrane molecules on Sertoli cells in a heterophilic manner and thereby may play diverse roles in the spermatogenesis.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Nectin Couples Cell-Cell Adhesion and the Actin Scaffold at Heterotypic Testicular JunctionsCurrent Biology, 2002
- Dynamic Testicular Adhesion Junctions Are Immunologically Unique. II. Localization of Classic Cadherins in Rat Testis1Biology of Reproduction, 2002
- Cell Junction Dynamics in the Testis: Sertoli-Germ Cell Interactions and Male Contraceptive DevelopmentPhysiological Reviews, 2002
- Cloning and characterization of a novel mouse immunoglobulin superfamily gene expressed in early spermatogenic cellsMolecular Reproduction and Development, 2001
- Rat Seminiferous Epithelium Contains a Unique Junction (Ectoplasmic Specialization) with Signaling Properties Both of Cell/Cell and Cell/Matrix JunctionsBiology of Reproduction, 2001
- Biogenesis of the Posterior-Tail Plasma Membrane Domain of the Mammalian Spermatozoon: Targeting and Lateral Redistribution of the Posterior-Tail Domain-Specific Transmembrane Protein CE9 during SpermiogenesisDevelopmental Biology, 1995
- Expression of E-Cadherin in Immature Rat and Mouse Testis and in Rat Sertoli Cell Cultures1Biology of Reproduction, 1993
- Hybridization of denatured RNA and small DNA fragments transferred to nitrocellulose.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1980
- Spermatogenic cells of the prepuberal mouse: isolation and morphological characterizationThe Journal of cell biology, 1977
- Effects of follicle-stimulating hormone on cultures of sertoli cell preparationsMolecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 1975