EXPRESSION OF THE TESTIS-SPECIFIC HSP70-RELATED GENE (HST70 GENE) IN SOMATIC NON-TESTICULAR RAT-TISSUES REVEALED BY RT-PCR AND TRANSGENIC MICE ANALYSIS

The hst70 gene which belongs to rat HSP70 multigene family is highly e xpressed in pachytene spermatocytes. Using a transgenic mice Model it was found that the promoter of the rat hst70 gene directs the expressi on of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene not o nly to testis but also To multiple somatic tissues. In wild-type rats the expression of the hst70 gene in tissues other than testis was conf irmed by non-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain react ion (RT-PCR) analysis. Beside the testis, the CAT expression in transg enic mice and the hst70 gene transcripts in wild-type rats were found in brain, pituitary, epididymis, vas deferens, adrenals, spleen, lung, ovary, oviduct and uterus. The only tissue in which both the CAT expr ession and the hst70 gene activity has not been found was the liver. T hese observations suggest possibly more universal, not confined to spe rmatogenesis, function of the hst70 gene. (C) 1997 Academic Press.