Sy. Song et al., CHANGES IN THE GENE-EXPRESSION OF A PROTEIN WITH THE CDC10 SWI6 MOTIF, V-1, DURING RAT FOLLICULAR DEVELOPMENT AND CORPUS-LUTEUM FORMATION/, Endocrinology, 137(4), 1996, pp. 1423-1428
We examined the gene expression of V-1, a novel soluble protein with t
he cdc10/SWI6 motif, in pseudopregnant rat ovaries. Northern blot anal
ysis on days 1, 5, and 11 of pseudopregnancy revealed an approximately
2-fold increase in the V-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression level on d
ay 5 to that on day 1, and no significant change was observed between
those on day 5 and day 11. An injection of human CG on day 5 further i
ncreased the V-1 mRNA level to about 1.6-fold of that of the untreated
control. Western blot analysis showed higher V-1 protein expression o
n days 5 and 11 of pseudopregnancy than that on day 1. In situ hybridi
zation and immunohistochemistry with ovaries on day 3 of pseudopregnan
cy showed that luteal cells of corpora lutea and also cells of the coe
xisting follicles including oocytes express V-1 mRNA and the protein,
with apparent rank order of the expression: oocytes > luteal cells > f
ollicular cells >> atretic follicular cells including oocytes. These d
ata indicate the dynamic change in the V-1 gene expression in the ovar
ian steroidogenic cells and oocytes and suggest potential roles of the
V-1 protein in ovarian functions including corpus luteum formation an
d folliculogenesis.