THE OLFACTORY ADENYLYL-CYCLASE TYPE-3 IS EXPRESSED IN MALE GERM-CELLS

Elements of the olfactory pathway, such as receptors, receptor-desensi tization machinery, and cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, are expresse d in male germ cells, Here we report the expression, in rat testis, of both adenylyl cyclase type 3 (AC3) and the olfactory G protein subuni t, G(alpha olf), Both are expressed in the same sub-population of germ cells, pachytene spermatocytes to spermatids, and in residual bodies, Neither AC3 nor G(alpha olf) was found in Sertoli or in peritubular c ells, as shown by Western blotting and immunocytochemical analyses, It thus appears that male germ cells contain all the elements of the sig naling cascade present in olfactory cells, (C) 1998 Federation of Euro pean Biochemical Societies.