TESTIS FACTORS THAT MAY REGULATE GENE-EXPRESSION - EVIDENCE FROM A PATIENT WITH KARTAGENERS-SYNDROME

Patients with Kartagener's syndrome characteristically have immotile c ilia and flagella. Ultrastructural analysis of the efferent ducts of t he patient described in this report revealed that the cilia totally la cked dynein arms. Based on clinical findings his respiratory cilia als o were not functional, In contrast, this patient's spermatozoa were mo tile and displayed normal ultrastructure, including dynein arms. This suggests that two genes exist that code for slightly different protein s with analogous functions; one of these genes functions in somatic ti ssue and the other in the male germ tissue. Differential gene expressi on in somatic and male germ tissue may be related to the syncytial nat ure of male germ cells, low scrotal temperature, or haploid gene expre ssion.