TEMO is a novel testicular gene to study Sertoli-germ cell interactions: its cDNA cloning and regulation

In a search to identify testicular genes in studying the interactions betwe en Sertoli (SC) and germ cells (GC), a 5437 bp mouse cDNA clone was isolate d by PCR. The nucleotide sequence of this clone displayed greater than 90% homology with a clone isolated from human myeloblast cell-line KG-1 in Genb ank (Accession #D38521) whose function is not known. Northern analysis reve aled that this cDNA hybridized with two mRNA transcripts of 6 and 3.8 kb an d is restricted to the testis (T), epididymis (E), skeletal muscle (M) and ovary (O) in the mouse and was designated TEMO. Based on the known mouse TE MO sequence, PCR was performed to isolate a clone of 479 bp from the rat wh ose sequence displayed 95% homology to the mouse clone. Also, its pattern o f mRNA distribution is the same as that of the mouse. In the rat, the expre ssion of TEMO was enhanced during the establishment of inter-SC junctions i n vitro. Conditioned media from GC also stimulated SC TEMO expression dose- dependently. TEMO is also an acute-phase protein in the rat testis. Moreove r, there was a drastic reduction in TEMO expression following drug-induced damage to the testis.