TRANSCRIPTS FOR CYSTEINE-RICH SECRETORY PROTEIN-1 (CRISP-1, DE AEG) AND THE NOVEL RELATED CRISP-3 ARE EXPRESSED UNDER ANDROGEN CONTROL IN THE MOUSE SALIVARY-GLAND/

Expression of the gene for cysteine-rich secretory protein- 1 (CRISP-1 ), the counterpart of the rat sperm-coating protein DE/AEG, was eviden ced in male mouse salivary gland by both isolation of the correspondin g cDNA clone and RNA blot analysis. In addition, the cDNA coding for t he new related CRISP-3, which shares 77% amino acid identity with CRIS P-1, was isolated from a salivary gland cDNA library. The activity of CRISP-1 and -3 genes in mouse salivary gland is strongly androgen depe ndent, as seen in castrated males; also, no CRISP-1 and only weak CRIS P-3 expression was detected in female salivary gland. A variety of tis sues were tested for the presence of CRISP-3 transcripts, but specific signals were only found in salivary gland. The results of genomic DNA blot analysis are compatible with the existence of single discrete ge nes for CRISP-1 and CRISP-3.