Dai T et al. (2001), Characterization of the mouse Dazap1 gene encod...

XB-ART-8241

BMC Genomics 2001 Jan 01;2:6. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-2-6.

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Characterization of the mouse Dazap1 gene encoding an RNA-binding protein that interacts with infertility factors DAZ and DAZL.

Dai T , Vera Y , Salido EC , Yen PH .

Abstract
BACKGROUND: DAZAP1 (DAZ Associated Protein 1) was originally identified by a yeast two-hybrid system through its interaction with a putative male infertility factor, DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia). In vitro, DAZAP1 interacts with both the Y chromosome-encoded DAZ and an autosome-encoded DAZ-like protein, DAZL. DAZAP1 contains two RNA-binding domains (RBDs) and a proline-rich C-terminal portion, and is expressed most abundantly in the testis. To understand the biological function of DAZAP1 and the significance of its interaction with DAZ and DAZL, we isolated and characterized the mouse Dazap1 gene, and studied its expression and the subcellular localization of its protein product. RESULTS: The human and mouse genes have similar genomic structures and map to syntenic chromosomal regions. The mouse and human DAZAP1 proteins share 98% identity and their sequences are highly similar to the Xenopus orthologue Prrp, especially in the RBDs. Dazap1 is expressed throughout testis development. Western blot detects a single 45 kD DAZAP1 protein that is most abundant in the testis. Although a majority of DAZAP1 is present in the cytoplasmic fraction, they are not associated with polyribosomes. CONCLUSIONS: DAZAP1 is evolutionarily highly conserved. Its predominant expression in testes suggests a role in spermatogenesis. Its subcellular localization indicates that it is not directly involved in mRNA translation.

PubMed ID: 11604102
PMC ID: PMC57980
Article link: BMC Genomics
Grant support: [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: actl6a dazap1 dazl mt4 prlh

Article Images: [+] show captions

References [+] :

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	Figure 1. Evolutionary conservation of the DAZAP1 proteins. The amino acid sequences of the human and mouse DAZAP1s and the Xenopus Prrp are compared. The two RNA binding domains are boxed. Differences between the human and the mouse sequences, and between the mouse and Xenopus sequences are marked by #'s and *'s, respectively.
	Figure 2. Expression of Dazap1 in adult mouse tissues. A mouse multiple-tissue Northern blot was hybridized with a Dazap1 cDNA probe, stripped, and rehybridized with a β-actin probe. Dazap1 is expressed most abundantly in the testis.
	Figure 3. Developmental expression of Dazap1 and Dazl in mouse testes. RT-PCR was performed on total testicular RNAs isolated from day 15 (El 5) and day 17 (El 7) embryos, new born mice (Day 0), and mice at various days after birth. Wv/Wv testes contain diminished germ cell population due to a mutated W (White spotted) gene. GC1 and MT4 are mouse germ cell and Sertoli cell lines, respectively, and gDNA is mouse genomic DNA. The PCR primers span over introns and produce much larger (if any) fragments from genomic DNA.
	Figure 4. Expression of the DAZAP1 protein in adult mouse tissues. Equal amounts of total protein from various tissue extracts were applied to a 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel and western blotted with the anti-DAZAP1-P antibody.
	Figure 5. Western blot analyses of the expression of DAZAP1 and DAZL in mouse testes during postnatal development.
	Figure 6. Sucrose gradient analyses shows that DAZAP1 is not associated with polyribosomes. The post-mitochondrial supernatant of mouse testis extracts was analyzed on a 15–45% sucrose gradient. Sedimentation was from left to right. The presence of DAZAP1 and DAZL in each fractions was analyzed by Western blotting.