Evidence for the involvement of prothymosin α in the spermatogenesis of the frog Rana esculenta

Abstract

Prothymosin alpha (PTMA) is a small acidic protein abundantly and ubiquitously expressed in mammals and involved in different biological activities. Until now, its specific function in spermatogenesis has never been properly investigated. Recently, the isolation of a cDNA encoding for PTMA from the testis of the frog Rana esculenta has been reported: ptma transcript is highly expressed throughout the frog reproductive cycle, peaking in September/October, in concomitance with the germ cell maturation; it is specifically localized in the cytoplasm of primary and secondary spermatocytes and, at a lower level, in the interstitial compartment, in Leydig cells.In this article we support the involvement of PTMA in the meiotic phases of frog spermatogenesis. The expression of ptma mRNA increases in the testis of frogs treated with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate, which blocks the II meiotic division and induces an increase in SPC cysts; on the contrary, it highly decreases in the testis of animals kept at 4 degrees C and treated with human corionic gonadotropin, in concomitance with the induced block of spermatogenesis and the disappearance of meiotic cells in the tubules. Furthermore, for the first time we have also evidenced by immunohistochemistry the expression of PTMA in the nuclei of secondary spermatocytes, spermatids, and spermatozoa, as well as in the cytoplasm of interstitial Leydig cells. Taken together our data suggest for an important role of PTMA in germ cell maturation and/or differentiation during R. esculenta spermatogenesis.

Expression of prothymosin alpha in meiotic and post‐meiotic germ cells during the first wave of rat spermatogenesis

“…In particular, we first verified the presence of both the transcript (by RT-PCR) and protein (by Western blot) in the adult male gonad, and then we analyzed their testicular expression during the postnatal period, when seminiferous tubules are gradually enriched by the newly formed GC types (Clermont and Perey, 1957). In particular, as our previous studies had demonstrated for the first time the association of the Ptma mRNA and of the corresponding protein with meiotic and post-meiotic phases of frog spermatogenesis (Aniello et al, 2002;Ferrara et al, 2009), we chose to carry out our studies on rats at 27, 35, and 60 dpp to better analyze SPC, differentiating SPT, and SPZ, respectively.…”

Comparative expression and regulation of TMSB4X in male reproductive tissues of rats and chickens

“…In addition to testis, Ptma mRNA was highly expressed in the whole ovary, Granulosa cells and placenta of rats (Oikawa et al, ). In frogs, Ptma showed a season specific strong expression in the primary and secondary spermatocytes during the peak of meiosis, and the expression was detected in the secondary spermatocytes, spermatozoa, and Leydig cells at later stages (Aniello et al, ; Ferrara et al, ). Furthermore, the expression of Ptma was also detected in the secondary spermatocytes, spermatozoa and Leydig cells of a spotted ray fish (Prisco et al, ).…”

Histological diagnosis of early hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Although PTMA specific role in reproduction is still to be elucidated, its involvement in spermatogenesis and its presence in male gametes has been borne out in lower Vertebrates like Torpedo marmorata (Prisco et al, 2009), Danio rerio (unpublished data) and Rana esculenta (Ferrara et al, 2009) as well as in the mammal R. norvegicus (Ferrara et al, 2010). The complex structural composition of mammalian sperm head on one side and the potential ubiquitous distribution of PTMA on the other made a thorough investigation on its sub‐localization necessary.…”

“…In 2010 our group reported the expression of Prothymosin α (PTMA) in rat testis (Ferrara et al, 2010). PTMA is a highly acidic small polypeptide; its association with male gametogenesis had been already described in non‐mammalian Vertebrates (Aniello et al, 2002; Ferrara et al, 2009; Prisco et al, 2009). In the germinal compartment of adult rat testis, PTMA is localized in the head of differentiating spermatids (SPT) throughout the different phases of spermiogenesis.…”