Expression of RIWI proteins and retrotransposons during the embryonic development of rat primordial germ cell

• Grant number: 11/07078-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology
• Principal Investigator: Taiza Stumpp Teixeira
• Grantee: Renato Borges Tesser
• Home Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Primordial germ cells (PGC) arise from epiblastic cells in the beginning of the embrionary life and migrate to the gonads. During this period, PGC undergo epigenetic reprogramming during which the DNA is widely demethylated, including the retrotransposons. We observed that the germ cell-specific protein MVH, which seems to be related with the control of retrotransposon expression, starts to be detected earlier in rats than in mouse. The aim of this research is to investigate whether PGC epigenetic reprogramming and the genome-defence machinery activation occur earlier in rats than mice. We analyzed the relationship between the expression of genome-defence proteins (MVH, DAZL and PIWILs) and genes (Piwil1, Piwil2, Piwil4, Tex19.1, Asz1 and Mov10l1) and the expression of the retrotransposons Iap and Line1 in PGC and post-natal rat testes. We also investigated whether the expression of the genome-defence genes is controlled by DNA methylation. The protein PIWIL2 was observed at 14 and 15dpc, but not at earlier ages. MVH and DAZL were observed from 13 to 15dpc PGC, but not at 12dpc. PIWIL2 and PIWIL1 were detected in the pre-pubertal and adult testes, in meiotic cells, coinciding with the localization of DAZL and MVH. PIWIL4 expression was detected at all ages studied. The expression of the genome-defence genes and Line1 and Iap retrotransposons was observed in PGC and adult testes. The results obtained so far, indicate that MVH, DAZL and PIWILs are important for germ cell development and rat spermatogenesis, indicating that the timing of genome-defence machinery activation in rat PGC is different from that observed in mice, although the mechanism look like to be the same (DNA methylation). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CANTAO, ISABELLE HERNANDEZ; TESSER, RENATO BORGES; STUMPP, TAIZA. An Initial Investigation of an Alternative Model to Study rat Primordial Germ Cell Epigenetic Reprogramming. BIOLOGICAL PROCEDURES ONLINE, v. 19, AUG 3 2017. Web of Science Citations: 1.