Skip Navigation


Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on April 26, 2004
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
10/7/527    most recent
gah062v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Azuma, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Miki, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Azuma, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Miki, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 527-533, 2004
Molecular Human Reproduction vol. 10 no. 7 © European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 2004; all rights reserved

Characterization of htAKR, a novel gene product in the aldo-keto reductase family specifically expressed in human testis

Yutaro Azuma1,2,*, Toru Nishinaka1,*, So Ushijima1,2, Jintetsu Soh2, Masato Katsuyama1, Hai-Ping Lu3, Mitsuhiro Kawata3, Chihiro Yabe-Nishimura4,1 and Tsuneharu Miki2

1Department of Pharmacology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan 2Department of Urology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan 3Department of Anatomy, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan *The two authors contributed equally to this work.

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed.; Email: nchihiro{at}koto.kpu-m.ac.jp

In human testis, expression of a novel member of the aldo-keto reductase family was identified. Based on its testis-specific expression, we termed this protein human testis aldo-keto reductase (htAKR). In addition to four major isoforms, the existence of multiple alternatively spliced products of htAKR was detected using RT-PCR followed by nested PCR. htAKR was a homologue of mouse liver keto-reductase, AKR1E1, with close similarity in their genomic organizations. htAKR4, the longest isoform, was expressed as a non-fused native form. It exhibited a limited activity toward 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, while no activity toward the steroids or prostaglandins was demonstrated. Using the laser capture microdissection technique and RT-PCR, expression of htAKR was detected in testicular germ cells as well as in interstitial cells. The levels of htAKR mRNA in the tissues obtained from seminoma were much lower than those in normal testes. A significant decline in the htAKR expression was observed when NEC8, a cell line originated from a human testicular germ cell tumour, was exposed to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone. These results indicate that the expression of htAKR, down-regulated in the testicular tumour, is possibly controlled by mitogenic and hormonal signals.

Key words: aldo-keto reductase/alternative splicing/mouse vas deferens protein/NEC8/seminoma


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.