RNA binding protein BOULE forms aggregates in mammalian testis  

作　　者：Yujuan Su Xinghui Guo Min Zang Zhengyao Xie Tingting Zhao Eugene Yujun Xu 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine,Nanjing Medical University,Nanjing,Jiangsu 211166,China [2]Department of Neurology,and Center for Reproductive Sciences,Northwestern University,Chicago,IL 60611,USA

出　　处：《The Journal of Biomedical Research》2022年第4期255-268,共14页生物医学研究杂志（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.3197060323);SKLRM grant(SKLRM-2019B2);the Jiangsu ShuangChuang Talent Program,as well as the Jiangsu graduate student innovation fellowship to Y.S.

摘　　要：Amyloids have traditionally been considered pathologic protein aggregates which contribute to neurodegeneration.New evidence however increasingly suggests that non-pathological amyloids are formed in animals during normal development.Amyloid-like aggregate formation was originally thought to be a conserved feature of animal gametogenesis.This hypothesis was based on findings which suggest that regulated amyloid formations govern yeast meiosis by way of meiosis-specific RNA binding proteins.Additional support came from studies which demonstrate that DAZL,a mammalian gametogenesis-specific RNA binding protein,also forms SDS-resistant aggregates in vivo.Here,we report evidence of aggregated BOULE formations,another DAZ family protein,during sperm development.Data suggest that in mouse testis,BOULE forms SDS-resistant amyloid-like aggregates.BOULE aggregate formation correlates with dynamic developmental expression during spermatogenesis but disappeared in Boule knockout testis.We also mapped essential small region in vitro BOULE aggregations,immediately downstream DAZ repeats,and found that aggregations positively correlated with temperature.We also performed enhanced UV cross-linking immunoprecipitation on BOULE aggregates from mouse testes and found that aggregates bind with a large number of spermatogenesis-related mRNAs.These findings provide insight into the amyloidogenic properties of gametogenesis-specific RNA binding proteins as a conserved feature in mammalian reproduction.Further investigation is warranted to understand the functional significance of BOULE amyloid-like formation during mouse spermatogenesis.

关 键 词：AMYLOID RNA-binding protein BOULE protein aggregation SDD-AGE enhanced UV cross-linking immunoprecipitation 

分 类 号：Q492.4[生物学—生理学]