| First Author | Matsuoka T | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | J Reprod Dev | Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 192-7 |
| PubMed ID | 18360097 | Mgi Jnum | J:136919 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3797340 | Doi | 10.1262/jrd.20008 |
| Citation | Matsuoka T, et al. (2008) Identification of ZAG1, a Novel Protein Expressed in Mouse Preimplantation, and Its Putative Roles in Zygotic Genome Activation. J Reprod Dev 54(3):192-7 |
| abstractText | We isolated a mouse cDNA, zag1 (zygotic gene activation-associated gene 1), that has an open reading frame of 1,728-bp encoding a protein of 66.2 kDa including both a bipartite nuclear targeting sequence and a P-loop motif containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase motifs. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues showed that zag1 was widely expressed but was especially prominent in the ovary and testis. RT-PCR analysis of in vitro fertilized embryos showed that the abundance of zag1 transcripts in oocytes decreased after fertilization, and zag1 mRNA was detected at 15 h post insemination (hpi) in fertilized embryos indicating that the gene was expressed at the start of zygotic gene activation at the mouse 1-cell stage. The nuclear-localization of ZAG1 protein in mouse preimplantation embryos at 15 hpi was confirmed by both subcellular analysis of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-tagged ZAG1 and immunocytochemical analysis with anti-ZAG1 antibody. Subsequently, using yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein B (U2B'), which is associated with pre-mRNA splicing, as a putative interacting partner of ZAG1 protein. Furthermore, knockdown of zag1 expression by an antisense DNA plasmid induced arrest and/or delay of embryonic development in injected 1-cell embryos. These results suggest that ZAG1 may be closely associated with zygotic gene expression in mouse preimplantation embryos. |
