| First Author | Hwang KC | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | Biochem Biophys Res Commun | Volume | 306 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 198-207 |
| PubMed ID | 12788088 | Mgi Jnum | J:84025 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2664629 | Doi | 10.1016/s0006-291x(03)00916-1 |
| Citation | Hwang KC, et al. (2003) Cloning, sequencing, and characterization of the murine nm23-M5 gene during mouse spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 306(1):198-207 |
| abstractText | Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPKs) are conserved throughout evolution and have been shown to be involved in various biological phenomena. By functional screening in yeast, we identified a new member of the NDPK family, nm23-M5, which encodes a 211-amino acid protein with 86% identity to the human homolog Nm23-H5. Northern blot analysis revealed that nm23-M5 encodes two transcripts of 0.8 and 0.7kb, which are highly and specifically expressed in adult testis. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that nm23-M5 transcripts first appear in pachytene spermatocytes and increase in abundance in subsequent stages. However, a low level of nm23-M5 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR in other tissues, such as ovary, brain, heart, and kidney. In situ hybridization studies showed that testicular nm23-M5 transcripts are localized in stage 12 to stage 16 spermatids in the neighboring lumen of seminiferous tubules. This distribution contrasts with that of Nm23-H5 transcripts, which are specifically found in spermatogonia and early spermatocytes. The heterologous expression of nm23-M5 in yeast cells confers protection from cell death induced by Bax, which is due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, overexpression of nm23-M5 in fibroblasts altered the cellular levels of several antioxidant enzymes, particularly glutathione peroxidase 5. Thus, we believe that the murine nm23-M5 gene plays an important role in late spermiogenesis by elevating the ability of late-stage spermatids to eliminate reactive oxygen species. |
