Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-22343
J Cell Biol 1993 Aug 01;1224:767-73.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

Identification and characterization of a sphere organelle protein.

Tuma RS , Stolk JA , Roth MB .


???displayArticle.abstract???
Sphere organelles are nuclear structures in amphibian oocytes that are easily visible by light microscopy. These structures are up to 10 microns in diameter and have been described morphologically for decades, yet their function remains obscure. The present study defines a protein component of the sphere organelle, named SPH-1, which is recognized by a mAb raised against purified Xenopus laevis oocyte nucleoplasm. SPH-1 is an 80-kD protein which is localized specifically to spheres and is undetectable elsewhere on lampbrush chromosomes or in nucleoli. We show using confocal microscopy that SPH-1 is localized to the cortex of sphere organelles. Furthermore, we have isolated a cDNA that can encode SPH-1. When epitope-tagged forms of SPH-1 are expressed in X. laevis oocytes the protein specifically localizes to spheres, demonstrating that the cloned cDNA encodes the sphere antigen. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence with sequence databases shows SPH-1 is related to p80-coilin, a protein associated with coiled bodies; coiled bodies are nuclear structures found in plant and animal cells. The sphere-specific mAb stains X. laevis tissue culture cells in a punctate nuclear pattern, showing that spheres or sphere antigens are present in somatic cells as well as germ cells and suggesting a general and essential function for spheres in all nuclei.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 8349728
???displayArticle.pmcLink??? PMC2119590

???displayArticle.grants??? [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: coil il1r1
???displayArticle.antibodies??? Coil Ab2

References [+] :
Altschul, Basic local alignment search tool. 1990, Pubmed