Title: Characteristics of the expression of the c-abl and c-mos proto-oncogenes in mouse germ cells.

POPLINE Document Number: 075743

Author(s):

Wadewitz AG
Wolgemuth DJ

Source citation:

In: Growth factors in fertility regulation. Proceedings of the Symposium on Potential of Molecular Biology in Fertility Regulation: Growth Regulatory Factors, jointly sponsored by the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and held at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, on September 22-24, 1988, edited by Florence P. Haseltine, Jock K. Findlay. Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press, 1991. :35-49. (Scientific Basis of Fertility Regulation)

Abstract:

A summary of the properties and gene products of the proto-oncogenes c-abl and c-mos in mouse male and female germ lines is presented. High levels of unique sizes of transcripts of these genes are considered evidence of specific gene expression and of a distinct role in development. The oncogene c-abl, a complex gene over 100 kb long that produces 5 distinct mRNAs, is homologous to the transforming region of the Abelson murine leukemia virus. It occurs as a single copy in mouse and human genomes, and is expressed at low levels in all tissues, but a high levels in adult mouse testis. The authors studied testes of Swiss Webster mice, from which c-abl proteins could be demonstrated immunologically. A novel transcript of c-abl is found in postmeiotic germ cells, consisting of 2 proteins, expressed at different times in development. The gene product can be induced 4-8 fold by activators of protein kinase. The proto-oncogene c-mos is the normal cell homolog of the transforming sequence of the Moloney murine sarcoma virus, present as a single gene in the mouse genome. There is a high level of homology across several species, e.g., 77% for the human c-mos genome. The c-mos gene is transcribed at high levels in adult mouse gonads, especially in postmeiotic early spermatids, and also in growing and mature oocytes. a size increase of 250 nucleotides in c-mos mRNA occurs in mature ova, thought to be a posttranscriptional modification. Nothing is known about the c-mos gene product, except that antibodies against it cross react with many other cellular proteins. It is likely that c-abl and c-mos are involved in gamete differentiation and embryonic development.

Keywords:

Clinical Research
Biological Characteristics
Proteins
Ovarian Effects
Testis
Germ Cells
Research Activities
Animals, Laboratory
In Vitro
Embryo
Research Methodology
Biology
Physiology
Ovary
Genitalia, Female
Genitalia
Urogenital System
Genitalia, Male
Pregnancy
Reproduction