THE MURINE NUCLEAR ORPHAN RECEPTOR GCNF IS EXPRESSED IN THE XY BODY OF PRIMARY SPERMATOCYTES

We have studied the expression of the nuclear orphan receptor GCNF (ge rm cell nuclear factor) on the mRNA and protein level in pubertal and adult mouse testes. We show by Northern and Western blot analyses and by in situ hybridization that GCNF is expressed in spermatocytes and r ound spermatids of adult mouse testis suggesting that GCNF may be a tr anscriptional regulator of spermatogenesis, Since the GCNF protein is accumulated in the XY body of late pachytene spermatocytes. it may be involved in transcriptional inactivation of sea chromosomes. (C) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.