HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 78/4/714    most recent biolreprod.107.063826v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by De La Chesnaye, E. Articles by Ojeda, S. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by De La Chesnaye, E. Articles by Ojeda, S. R. Agricola Articles by De La Chesnaye, E. Articles by Ojeda, S. R.

Fbxw15/Fbxo12J Is an F-Box Protein-Encoding Gene Selectively Expressed in Oocytes of the Mouse Ovary¹

UIM en Biología del Desarrollo,³ Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico Division of Neuroscience,⁴ Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon 97006 Departamento de Biología Celular,⁵ Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

ABSTRACT

In recent years, several factors required for follicular assembly and/or early growth of newly formed primordial follicles have been characterized, but additional factors likely remain to be identified. We have used cDNA arrays to compare gene expression in the neonatal mouse ovary at 48 h (when primordial follicles are being assembled) and at 96 h (when early follicular growth is taking place) after birth to that of ovaries collected <24 h after birth (when follicles have not yet been formed). Segregating genes according to their pattern of expression revealed the presence of one cluster of 24 genes for which expression consistently increased at 48 and 96 h. The top increaser in this cluster encodes a 1.5-kb mRNA containing an open reading frame of 1401 bp that encodes a protein of 466 amino acids. The predicted 52.3-kDa protein is a member of the F-box-only (FBXO) protein family, termed FBXW15 or FBXO12J. It has a cytoplasmic localization that includes the endoplasmic reticulum. Expression of Fbxw15/Fbxp12J mRNA is oocyte-specific; the mRNA is first detected on Gestational Day 18, decreasing thereafter to minimal levels on the day of birth. The prevalence of Fbxw15/Fbxp12J mRNA increases again at 48 and 96 h after birth, coinciding with the time of follicular assembly and the initiation of early follicular growth, respectively. The specific expression of Fbxw15/Fbxp12J in oocytes and its developmental pattern of expression suggest a role for this gene in the regulation of oocyte physiology.

F-box proteins, follicular development, oocyte development, oocytes, ovarian development

¹Supported by National Institutes of Health grants HD-24870 and RR-00163 for the operation of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) through cooperative agreement U54 HD18185 as part of the Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research (S.R.O.), and the Fondo para el Fomento a la Investigación from the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social grant 2005/1/I/166 (E.D.L.C.). B.K. was a postdoctoral research fellow (from the P. Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile) supported in part by a fellowship from NICHD TW/HD00668 Fogarty International Training and Research in Population and Health grant. E.D.L.C. was a graduate student of the Program en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. The array results have been deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) and are accessible through GEO Series accession number GSE8528.

Correspondence: ²Sergio R. Ojeda, Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center/Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave., Beaverton, OR 97006. FAX: 503 690 5384; e-mail: ojedas{at}ohsu.edu