Background: Infertility affects 15% of couples around the world. Male factor accounts for 40-50% of conjugal infertility. cAMP responsive element modulator (CREM) is a key factor in the regulation of the expression of number of postmeiotic genes that control spermatogenesis. Aloe vera is a medicinal plant used to treat several diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of Al...

Many hormones that stimulate intracellular signaling pathways utilizing the second messenger cAMP affect gene expression in target cells through the activation of cAMP-responsive transcriptional regulatory proteins. Two of the best characterized of these are the cAMP-response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) and the CRE-modulatory protein (CREM). CREB and CREM are expressed as a family of p...

The transcriptional repressor cAMP response element modulator (CREM) α has important roles in normal T cell physiology and contributes to aberrant T cell function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recently, we characterized a specificity protein-1-dependent promoter located upstream of the CREM gene that accounts for increased basal CREM expression in SLE T cells and reflects...

The CREM (cyclic AMP-responsive element modulator) gene encodes multiple regulators of the cyclic AMP transcriptional response. CREM expression has been linked with several key physiological aspects of neuroendocrine pathways. We investigated the conservation of CREM during evolution. Here, we show conservation of CREM sequences in the pig, humans, the chicken, the lemur, and Xenopus. We have a...

The essential role of the Crem gene in normal sperm development is widely accepted and is confirmed by azoospermia in male mice lacking the Crem gene. The exact number of genes affected by Crem absence is not known, however a large difference has been observed recently between the estimated number of differentially expressed genes found in Crem knock-out (KO) mice compared to the number of gene...

Spermatogenesis is a complex differentiation process under the hormonal control of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The CREM gene encodes activators and repressors of cAMP-mediated gene transcription. The transcript corresponding to the activator isoform CREMtau is found at high levels in pachytene spermatocytes onwards. The CREMtau protein, however, is present only in post-meiotic spermatids w...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) T cells express high levels of cAMP response element modulator (CREM) that binds to the IL-2 promoter and represses the transcription of the IL-2 gene. This study was designed to identify pathways that lead to increased binding of CREM to the IL-2 promoter in SLE T cells. Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV (CaMKIV) was found to be increased in the nucleus o...

Rapid expression of ICER (inducible cyclic AMP early repressor), an inducible member of the CREM (cyclic AMP response element modulator) family of transcription factors, has been reported in neuroendocrine tissues and cell lines, but not in brain. In the present study, we demonstrate that acute electro-convulsive seizure (ECS) increases the expression of ICER in several rat brain regions. RNase...

Several endocrine and neuronal functions are governed by the cAMP-dependent pathway. Transcriptional regulation upon stimulation of this pathway is mediated by a family of cAMP-responsive nuclear factors. This family consists of a large number of members, which may act as activators or repressors. These factors contain the basic domain/leucine zipper motifs and bind as dimers to cAMP-response e...

The cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) is involved in regulating gene expression in haploid spermatids. Transcriptional activity of the CREM protein is thought to be regulated by activator of CREM in the testis (ACT). Applying RT-PCR and in situ hybridization, cell-specific gene expression of ACT was demonstrated in man, cynomolgus monkey and mouse. During normal spermatogenesis, RT-PCR r...