Transcriptional activation of the testis-specific histone H1t gene occurs in pachytene primary spermatocytes during spermatogenesis. Specific binding of testis nuclear proteins to a rat histone H1t promoter sequence, designated the H1t/TE element, correlates with the onset of transcription. This element, located between the H1t/AC box and the H1t/CCAAT box, contains inverted repeats of a shorte...

We have identified a new member of the FABP gene family, designated FABP12. FABP12 has the same structure as other FABP genes and resides in a cluster with FABP4/5/8/9 within 300,000 bp chromosomal region. FABP12 orthologs are found in mammals, but not in the zebrafish or chicken genomes. We demonstrate that FABP12 is expressed in rodent retina and testis, as well as in human retinoblastoma cel...

The cysteine rich prostate and testis expressed (Pate) proteins identified till date are thought to resemble the three fingered protein/urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor proteins. In this study, for the first time, we report the identification, cloning and characterization of rat Pate gene cluster and also determine the expression pattern. The rat Pate genes are clustered on chromos...

Di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) is commonly used in personal care products and as a plasticizer to soften consumer plastic products. Male rats exposed to DBP in utero have malformations of the male reproductive tract and testicular atrophy characterized by degeneration of seminiferous epithelium and decreased sperm production. In the fetal testis, in utero exposure to DBP reportedly resulted in red...

A novel profilin, named profilin IV, was cloned and characterized as a testicular isoform, distinct from the previously described testis-specific profilin III. Profilin IV showed only 30% amino acid identity with the other mammalian profilins; nevertheless, database searches produced significant alignments with the conserved profilin domain. Northern blot analysis and in situ transcript hybridi...

Protamine-like sequences have been identified in poly A(+)mRNAs from mammalian testes by the use of a common, complementary oligonucleotide (GCAGCANCKPTANCKNGCCAT; predicted from the common N-terminal amino acid sequence, MARYRCC, seen in several mammalian P1 protamines [D.J. McKay, B.S. Renaux and G.H. Dixon, Bioscience Reports 5:383-391 (1985)]). This oligonucleotide was utilized to prepare s...

In an effort to study the molecular basis of kidney development and carcinogenesis, we isolated complementary DNA clones of the rat homologue of the human Wilms' tumor gene, WT-1. When compared to the predicted sequence of the human WT-1 polypeptide, the rat WT-1 amino acid sequence is highly conserved (> 97%), except for the loss of one amino acid. In situ mRNA hybridization experiments locali...

Spermatogonial transplantation has demonstrated a unique opportunity for studying spermatogenesis and provided an assay for spermatogonial stem cells. However, it has remained unknown whether germ cells that matured in a xenogeneic environment are functionally normal. In this investigation, we demonstrate the successful production of xenogeneic offspring by using spermatogonial transplantation....

This study was conducted to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effect of oxidative stress induced by carbon tetrachloride(CCl4) on some characters male rat reproductive system. Twenty albino rats were divided into 4 groups, 5 for each included, control group, CCl4 group and plus group. Groups with received dose (150mg/kg) (3ml/kg) at end experiment. The period 35 days. induce toxi...