Regulation by estrogen of the vitellogenin gene

Microscopic Analysis of Nuclear Speckles in a Viviparous Reptile

Nuclear speckles are compartments enriched in splicing factors present in the nucleoplasm of eucaryote cells. Speckles have been studied in mammalian culture and tissue cells, as well as in some non-mammalian vertebrate cells and invertebrate oocytes. In mammals, their morphology is linked to the transcriptional and splicing activities of the cell through a recruitment mechanism. In rats, speckle morphology depends on the hormonal cycle. In the present work, we explore whether a similar situation is also present in non-mammalian cells during the reproductive cycle. We studied the speckled pattern in several tissues of a viviparous reptile, the lizard Sceloporus torquatus, during two different stages of reproduction. We used immunofluorescence staining against splicing factors in hepatocytes and oviduct epithelium cells and fluorescence and confocal microscopy, as well as ultrastructural immunolocalization and EDTA contrast in Transmission Electron Microscopy. The distribution of splicing factors in the nucleoplasm of oviductal cells and hepatocytes coincides with the nuclear-speckled pattern described in mammals. Ultrastructurally, those cell types display Interchromatin Granule Clusters and Perichromatin Fibers. In addition, the morphology of speckles varies in oviduct cells at the two stages of the reproductive cycle analyzed, paralleling the phenomenon observed in the rat. The results show that the morphology of speckles in reptile cells depends upon the reproductive stage as it occurs in mammals.

An Alkaloid from a Highly Invasive Seaweed Increases the Voracity and Reproductive Output of a Model Fish Species

The invasive macroalga Caulerpa cylindracea has spread widely in the Mediterranean Sea, becoming a favorite food item for native fish for reasons yet unknown. By using a combination of behavioral, morphological, and molecular approaches, herein we provide evidence that the bisindole alkaloid caulerpin, a major secondary metabolite of C. cylindracea, significantly increases food intake in the model fish Danio rerio, influencing the regulation of genes involved in the orexigenic pathway. In addition, we found that the compound improves fish reproductive performance by affecting the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. The obtained results pave the way for the possible valorization of C. cylindracea as a sustainable source of a functional feed additive of interest to face critical challenges both in aquaculture and in human nutrition.

Vitellogenins - Yolk Gene Function and Regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Vitellogenins are a family of yolk proteins that are by far the most abundant among oviparous animals. In the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the 6 vitellogenins are among the most highly expressed genes in the adult hermaphrodite intestine, which produces copious yolk to provision eggs. In this article we review what is known about the vitellogenin genes and proteins in C. elegans, in comparison with vitellogenins in other taxa. We argue that the primary purpose of abundant vitellogenesis in C. elegans is to support post-embryonic development and fertility, rather than embryogenesis, especially in harsh environments. Increasing vitellogenin provisioning underlies several post-embryonic phenotypic alterations associated with advancing maternal age, demonstrating that vitellogenins can act as an intergenerational signal mediating the influence of parental physiology on progeny. We also review what is known about vitellogenin regulation - how tissue-, sex- and stage-specificity of expression is achieved, how vitellogenins are regulated by major signaling pathways, how vitellogenin expression is affected by extra-intestinal tissues and how environmental experience affects vitellogenesis. Lastly, we speculate whether C. elegans vitellogenins may play other roles in worm physiology.

Yolk protein is expressed in the insect testis and interacts with sperm

Background

Male and female gametes follow diverse developmental pathways dictated by their distinct roles in fertilization. While oocytes of oviparous animals accumulate yolk in the cytoplasm, spermatozoa slough off most of their cytoplasm in the process of individualization. Mammalian spermatozoa released from the testis undergo extensive modifications in the seminal ducts involving a variety of glycoproteins. Ultrastructural studies suggest that glycoproteins are involved in sperm maturation in insects; however, their characterization at the molecular level is lacking. We reported previously that the circadian clock controls sperm release and maturation in several insect species. In the moth, Spodoptera littoralis, the secretion of glycoproteins into the seminal fluid occurs in a daily rhythmic pattern. The purpose of this study was to characterize seminal fluid glycoproteins in this species and elucidate their role in the process of sperm maturation.

Results

We collected seminal fluid proteins from males before and after daily sperm release. These samples were separated by 2-D gel electrophoresis, and gels were treated with a glycoprotein-detecting probe. We observed a group of abundant glycoproteins in the sample collected after sperm release, which was absent in the sample collected before sperm release. Sequencing of these glycoproteins by mass spectroscopy revealed peptides bearing homology with components of yolk, which is known to accumulate in developing oocytes. This unexpected result was confirmed by Western blotting demonstrating that seminal fluid contains protein immunoreactive to antibody against yolk protein YP2 produced in the follicle cells surrounding developing oocytes. We cloned the fragment of yp2 cDNA from S. littoralis and determined that it is expressed in both ovaries and testes. yp2 mRNA and YP2 protein were detected in the somatic cyst cells enveloping sperm inside the testis. During the period of sperm release, YP2 protein appears in the seminal fluid and forms an external coat on spermatozoa.

Conclusion

One of the yolk protein precursors YP2, which in females accumulate in the oocytes to provision developing embryos, appears to have a second male-specific role. It is produced in the testes and released into the seminal fluid where it interacts with sperm. These data reveal unexpected common factor in the maturation of insect eggs and sperm.

Androgen-induced vitellogenin gene expression in primary cultures of rainbow trout hepatocytes

The hormone induction of vitellogenin (Vg) gene expression was investigated in primary cultures of immature male rainbow trout hepatocytes. Vg cDNA was cloned from the liver of a female rainbow trout injected with estradiol-17beta (E2). A Vg mRNA of about 6.6 kb was detected in the hepatocytes after stimulation with 2 x 10(-9) M E2 for 24 h. The intensity of this signal increased with E2 concentration. Several other hormones including progesterone and androgens (testosterone, androsterone, methyltestosterone) also induced Vg mRNA not only at high (2 x 10(-5) M) but also at low (2 x 10(-9) M), physiologically relevant steroid concentrations. Only cortisol failed to do so at any tested concentration but, surprisingly, like progesterone, it induced an additive effect in the presence of E2. On the other hand, tamoxifen drastically reduced the expression of Vg gene whether stimulated by E2 or any other tested steroid. In conclusion, our studies have highlighted the unusual specificity of Vg mRNA induction in fish.

Polyadenylation-mediated translational regulation of maternal P450(11beta) mRNA in frog oocytes

Northern blot analysis of bullfrog tissues using a cDNA probe of cytochrome P450(11beta) showed that a large amount of message was present in the ovary as well as in the adrenal tissue. Two kinds of mRNA of different sizes were found in the ovary. Sequence determination of the two cDNAs and analysis by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction indicated that the protein encoded by the larger mRNA was identical to the adrenal enzyme, while the protein encoded by the smaller had a truncated sequence lacking an extension peptide necessary for the protein transport to the mitochondria. The mRNAs were present in the oocytes but not in the follicular cells, and their content in an oocyte varied little during its maturation. Immunoblot analyses of the mitochondrial fraction of oocytes failed to demonstrate the presence of P450(11beta) protein. In contrast the eggs were found to contain a large amount of enzymatically active protein. Interestingly the mRNA has a cis-element called cytoplasmic polyadenylation element at its 3' untranslated region. When poly(A) tails of the message prepared from eggs and oocytes were examined by RNase H digestion or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, those of eggs were about 150 nucleotides longer than those of oocytes. These results suggest that translation of the message is stimulated during the oocyte maturation as a result of enhanced polyadenylation at its 3'-end. Finally a finding is presented that progesterone was converted to 11beta-hydroxyprogesterone by the frog P450(11beta), implying that the enzyme expressed in eggs may control a level of progesterone which is needed to initiate the oocyte maturation.

20-Hydroxyecdysone stimulates the accumulation of translatable yolk polypeptide gene transcript in adult male Drosophila melanogaster

Yolk polypeptide (YP) synthesis is hormonally stimulated during maturation of adult female Drosophila melanogaster. Synthesis of the three YPs is sex specific and occurs in fat body cells and follicle cells of adult females. However, males have been shown to produce YPs when treated with the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-HE). By using a cell-free translation system as an assay for YP mRNA, we found that 20-HE also causes the accumulation of translatable YP message in males. In addition, hybridization of cloned copies of genes for both YP1 and YP3 to total RNA from males showed that 20-HE caused the appearance of YP gene transcripts in males. Eight hours after treatment of males with 20-HE, YP gene transcript levels had increased at least 25-fold to approximately 2.7 x 10(6) copies of YP1 gene transcript per adult male fly. In normal adult females, there were 42 x 10(6) copies per fly by 24 hr. There was neither detectable YP synthesis nor translatable YP gene transcript in either normal 1- to 3-day-old males or 24-hr-old males treated with a juvenile hormone analogue. This evidence shows that 20-HE acts to regulate the levels of translatable YP mRNA in male Drosophila.

Identification of estrogen-inducible growth factors (estromedins) for rat and human mammary tumor cells in culture

The role of polypeptide growth factors (estromedins) as mediators of estrogen-responsive mammary tumor growth is studied in this report. Three possible new mechanisms were investigated that include endocrine, autocrine, and paracrine related growth factors. The first hypothesis being tested is whether estrogens interact with target tissues and cause the biosynthesis and secretion of polypeptide growth factors, which then act as mitogens for normal and neoplastic mammary tissues. Data presented suggest that this mechanism involves estrogen interaction with uterus, kidney, and pituitary gland causing production of growth factors, which then enter the general circulation and promote growth of distant target tissues. This is an endocrine type mechanism. Another type of estromedin control (autocrine control) may be exerted in an autostimulatory way in which the target tissue produces the polypeptide factors for its own growth in response to estrogen stimulation. A variation of the autocrine mechanism may be a paracrine mechanism in which some cells of an estrogen-responsive normal or neoplastic tissue produce growth factors that act on adjacent or neighboring cells. From the data available, all three possible types of growth factors could be functioning synergistically to yield the final result of continuous estrogen responsive tumor growth in vivo.

Vitellogenesis and the vitellogenin gene family

Vitellogenin is synthesized under estrogen control in the liver, extensively modified, transported to the ovary, and there processed to the yolk proteins lipovitellin and phosvitin. In the frog Xenopus laevis there are at least four distinct but related vitellogenin genes. The two genes A1 and A2 have a 95 percent sequence homology in their messenger RNA coding regions, and contain 33 introns that interrupt the coding region (exons) at homologous positions. Sequences and lengths of analogous introns differ, and many introns contain repetitive DNA elements. The introns in these two genes that have apparently arisen by duplication have diverged extensively by events that include deletions, insertions, and probably duplications. Rapid evolutionary change involving rearrangements and the presence of repeated DNA suggests that the bulk of the sequences within introns may not have any specific function.

Xenopus liver: ontogeny of estrogen responsiveness

Estradiol-17 beta stimulates the synthesis of numerous proteins exported into the culture medium by Xenopus tadpole liver tissue obtained after stage 50 and throughout metamorphosis to stage 66. Although estrogen-induced vitellogenin can be detected as early as stage 54, it is a minor percentage of the exported proteins until after the completion of metamorphosis. In hepatic tissue obtained after metamorphosis, the hormone evokes the synthesis of vitellogenin specifically without affecting the labeling of other secreted proteins.

Sequential Sepharose chromatographic isolation of polysomes and polysomal RNAs depleted in nuclear RNA from Xenopus

Analyses of sequence complexities, stage specific gene expression, and mRNA sequence divergence require polysomal RNA preparations relatively free of nuclear RNA contamination. Conventional procedures for the isolation of uncontaminated polysomal RNAs which rely on sucrose density centrifugations are laborious and unsuitable for large scale isolations. We describe here a method using sequential Sepharose chromatography for isolating polysomes and polysomal RNAs depleted for nuclear RNA. Polysomes and polysomal RNAs isolated from livers of Xenopus stimulated to produce vitellogenin were capable of directing protein synthesis in vitro and showed little evidence of degradation. The polysomal RNAs contained less than 0.5% of nuclear RNA.

Induction of vitellogenin synthesis in Xenopus laevis tadpoles

Oestradiol induces vitellogenin synthesis in vitro in liver taken from Xenopus laevis tadpoles that are in late metamorphosis. Inducibility first appears at the end of prometamorphosis, and the response to oestradiol increases during the completion of metamorphosis. Oestradiol continuously present during development does not influence the stage at which tadpole liver becomes inducible. It seems that the acquisition of inducibility is part of the normal development of the liver, and independent of both the supply of oestrogen and the sex of the tadpole.