REGULAR ARTICLES

Cell Research (2004); 14 (3): 197-207

Characterization of rtSH3p13 gene encoding a development protein involved in vesicular traffic in spermiogenesis

Yuan QIAO¹, Ju Xiang YANG¹, Xiao Dong ZHANG¹, Yu LIU¹, Jian Chao ZHANG³, Shu Dong ZONG³, Shi Ying MIAO¹, Lin Fang WANG^1,*, Samuel S. KOIDE²

¹National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, 5 Dong Dan San Tiao, Beijing 100005, China.
²Center for Biomedical Research, Population Council, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
³National Research Institute for Family Planning, 12 Da Hui Si, Hai Dian, Beijing 100081, China.

Received, Mar 5, 2004     Revised, May 20, 2004      Accepted, May 25, 2004

Correspondence: Lin Fang WANG +86-10-6524-0803 (phone) +86-10-6524-0529 (fax) wanglf@ms.imicams.ac.cn

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A cDNA, designated as rtSH3p13, was isolated from a rat testis cDNA library. It consists of 1463 bp nuclear acids, which encodes a protein of 312 amino acids and was assigned the GenBank accession number AF227439. The deduced rtSH3p13 protein is a truncated isoform of SH3p13 as a result of mRNA alternative splicing. It is mainly expressed in the rat testis, detected in spermatids at the steps 8-19 of spermiogenesis, and found around the acrosome. During postnatal development, rtSH3p13 appears on day 18 and reaches maximum on day 60. Further experimental results suggested that rtSH3p13 forms a complex with activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and interacts with synaptojanin I. Surprisingly, similar to SH3 domain, the V region of rtSH3p13 also inhibits endocytosis in CHO cells. Our results reveal a link between an rtSH3p13-synaptojanin-clathrin complex-mediated formation of pits and the process of spermiogenesis.

Keywords: rtSH3p13, spermiogenesis, acrosome, clathrin, endocytosis.