• PMID: 15685348
• Gene Name: BGR
• Condition: Male infertility, spermatogenesis/testicular development
• Association: The BGR-like gene may play an important role in spermatogenesis/testicular development and may be correlated with male infertility.
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Male infertility, spermatogenesis/testicular development

Identification and characterization of the BGR-like gene with a potential role in human testicular development/spermatogenesis

Zheng Y, Zhou ZM, Min X, Li JM, Sha JH.

AIM: To investigate the roles of the BGR-like gene in testicular development/spermatogenesis. METHODS: A human testis cDNA microarray was hybridized with probes from human adult testes and embryo testes. The differentially expressed clones were sequenced and analyzed. Expression of the BGR-like gene was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: A new gene exhibiting 50-fold difference in expression level between adult and fetal human testes was cloned and named the BGR-like gene. The cDNA consisted of 2500 nucleotides and had an open reading frame of 1437 nucleotides encoding a putative protein of 497 amino acid residues. Homologous comparison showed that the BGR-like gene was a new alternative splicing variant of the BGR gene and had sequence homology with the bubblegum gene of human, mouse, rat and Drosophila. Protein motif analysis of the BGR-like gene revealed that it contained a conserved adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-binding domain and a fatty acyl-CoA synthetase signature motif which existed in all acyl-CoA synthetases. The BGR-like gene transcript was imperceptibly expressed in human fetal testes, highly in human adult testes and moderately in elderly testes and human Leydig cells. RT-PCR-based tissue distribution experiments showed that the BGR-like gene was exclusively expressed in testes and was a testes-specific isoform of the BGR gene. A BGR-like gene transcript was not detected in some azoospermic testes. CONCLUSION: The BGR-like gene may play an important role in spermatogenesis/testicular development and may be correlated with male infertility. FAU - Zheng, Ying AU - Zheng Y AD - Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China. FAU - Zhou, Zuo-Min AU - Zhou ZM FAU - Min, Xu AU - Min X FAU - Li, Jian-Ming AU - Li JM