spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 31 January 2007
doi: 10.1242/dev.02795

Development 134, 945-957 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dev.02795v1
134/5/945    most recent
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 PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Garcia-Rudaz, C.
Right arrow Articles by Ojeda, S. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Garcia-Rudaz, C.
Right arrow Articles by Ojeda, S. R.

Fxna, a novel gene differentially expressed in the rat ovary at the time of folliculogenesis, is required for normal ovarian histogenesis

Cecilia Garcia-Rudaz1,*, Felix Luna1,*,{dagger}, Veronica Tapia1,{ddagger}, Bredford Kerr1, Lois Colgin2, Francesco Galimi3,4, Gregory A. Dissen1, Neil D. Rawlings5 and Sergio R. Ojeda1,§

1 Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center/Oregon Health and Science University, 505 N.W. 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR, USA.
2 Division of Animal Resources, Oregon National Primate Research Center/Oregon Health and Science University, 505 N.W. 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR, USA.
3 University of Sassari Medical School/INBB, Italy.
4 The Salk Institute, San Diego, CA, USA.
5 The Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.

§ Author for correspondence (e-mail: ojedas{at}ohsu.edu)

Accepted 18 December 2006

In rodents, the formation of ovarian follicles occurs after birth. In recent years, several factors required for follicular assembly and the growth of the newly formed follicles have been identified. We now describe a novel gene, Fxna, identified by differential display in the neonatal rat ovary. Fxna encodes an mRNA of 5.4 kb, and a protein of 898 amino acids. Fxna is a transmembrane metallopeptidase from family M28, localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. In the ovary, Fxna mRNA is expressed in granulosa cells; its abundance is maximal 48 hours after birth, i.e. during the initiation of follicular assembly. Reducing Fxna mRNA levels via lentiviral-mediated delivery of short hairpin RNAs to neonatal ovaries resulted in substantial loss of primordial, primary and secondary follicles, and structural disorganization of the ovary, with many abnormal follicles containing more than one oocyte and clusters of somatic cells not associated with any oocytes. These abnormalities were not attributable to either increased apoptosis or decreased proliferation of granulosa cells. The results indicate that Fxna is required for the organization of somatic cells and oocytes into discrete follicular structures. As an endoplasmic reticulum-bound peptidase, Fxna may facilitate follicular organization by processing precursor proteins required for intraovarian cell-to-cell communication.

Key words: Ovarian development, Peptidases, Follicular assembly, Follicular growth, siRNAs




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 EndocrinologyHome page
K. Mayo, L. Jameson, and T. K. Woodruff
Eggs in the Nest
Endocrinology, August 1, 2007; 148(8): 3577 - 3579.
[Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007