Expression of the Tudor domain containing protein 6 (TDRD6), which is restricted to the male germ line, starts at day 16 of spermatogenesis, i.e. in pachytene spermatocytes. TDRD6 is a 250 kDa protein, which we recently found to be cleaved at the C-terminal end during germ cell development, resulting in a 230 kDa product. Neither is the process of cleavage itself nor are the functions of the two different forms known. The 230 kDa isoform is the most prominent form in round spermatids, where it localizes to the chromatoid body (CB), i.e. a single filamentous, perinuclear granule. One characteristic component of the CB is the RNA helicase MVH. CBs contain components of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway, including Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), as well as MIWI, MIWI2, and MILI, the mouse homologs of the Piwi proteins, which bind piRNAs and also act in transposon regulation. We showed that TDRD6 interacts with MIWI and MILI in vitro, and a direct interaction with MVH was shown before. To reveal the function of TDRD6, we generated Tdrd6-/- mice, which lack the protein. These mice are generally healthy but the males are sterile, due to the absence of mature spermatozoa. The most striking intracellular phenotype of Tdrd6-/- mice is the highly aberrant architecture of chromatoid bodies in round spermatids. Tdrd6-/- CBs appear as diffuse, disrupted, and less condensed structures. Their interior is largely missing, and only a “ghost”-like structure remains, expected to be significantly impaired in function. Other CB components like MVH, MIWI and MILI are expressed in Tdrd6-/- testes, but they cannot localize to the disrupted CBs. This suggests a role for TDRD6 in assembling the chromatoid body complex by recruiting other proteins. The CB is important for storage and translational regulation of mRNA, through interaction with miRNAs. In Tdrd6-deficient testes 10 % of all known murine miRNAs are differently expressed, whereas most of the mature miRNAs are up-regulated, indicating less turnover, and thus, accumulation of mature miRNAs. Since some precursor miRNAs are up-regulated as well, we assume, that TDRD6 affects miRNA transcription most likely by indirectly influencing transcriptional regulation of miRNA genes. In Tdrd6-/- mice an overall abnormal mRNA gene expression pattern was observed by microarray analyses. Of all mis-regulated genes 36 % are located to the centromer-proximal region of Chr 8, and 11 % are located to the distal end of Chr 1. This mis-regulation might be due to a common transcriptional regulation. The orthologous regions on the human chromosomes show altered chromosomal structures in many different carcinomas. If TDRD6 plays a role in carcinogenesis has to be investigated.

Expression of the Tudor domain containing protein 6 (TDRD6), which is restricted to the male germ line, starts at day 16 of spermatogenesis, i.e. in pachytene spermatocytes. TDRD6 is a 250 kDa protein, which we recently found to be cleaved at the C-terminal end during germ cell development, resulting in a 230 kDa product. Neither is the process of cleavage itself nor are the functions of the two different forms known. The 230 kDa isoform is the most prominent form in round spermatids, where it localizes to the chromatoid body (CB), i.e. a single filamentous, perinuclear granule. One characteristic component of the CB is the RNA helicase MVH. CBs contain components of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway, including Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), as well as MIWI, MIWI2, and MILI, the mouse homologs of the Piwi proteins, which bind piRNAs and also act in transposon regulation. We showed that TDRD6 interacts with MIWI and MILI in vitro, and a direct interaction with MVH was shown before. To reveal the function of TDRD6, we generated Tdrd6-/- mice, which lack the protein. These mice are generally healthy but the males are sterile, due to the absence of mature spermatozoa. The most striking intracellular phenotype of Tdrd6-/- mice is the highly aberrant architecture of chromatoid bodies in round spermatids. Tdrd6-/- CBs appear as diffuse, disrupted, and less condensed structures. Their interior is largely missing, and only a “ghost”-like structure remains, expected to be significantly impaired in function. Other CB components like MVH, MIWI and MILI are expressed in Tdrd6-/- testes, but they cannot localize to the disrupted CBs. This suggests a role for TDRD6 in assembling the chromatoid body complex by recruiting other proteins. The CB is important for storage and translational regulation of mRNA, through interaction with miRNAs. In Tdrd6-deficient testes 10 % of all known murine miRNAs are differently expressed, whereas most of the mature miRNAs are up-regulated, indicating less turnover, and thus, accumulation of mature miRNAs. Since some precursor miRNAs are up-regulated as well, we assume, that TDRD6 affects miRNA transcription most likely by indirectly influencing transcriptional regulation of miRNA genes. In Tdrd6-/- mice an overall abnormal mRNA gene expression pattern was observed by microarray analyses. Of all mis-regulated genes 36 % are located to the centromer-proximal region of Chr 8, and 11 % are located to the distal end of Chr 1. This mis-regulation might be due to a common transcriptional regulation. The orthologous regions on the human chromosomes show altered chromosomal structures in many different carcinomas. If TDRD6 plays a role in carcinogenesis has to be investigated.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:43:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 peruquetti_rl_dr_sjrp.pdf: 4798980 bytes, checksum: 183f2f2646027bae2081cc27764e1c82 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O corpo cromatóide (CB) é uma organela citoplasmática que, aparentemente, possui um papel no estoque de RNA e proteínas para a diferenciação final dos espermatozóides. Existem algumas teorias que tentam explicar a origem do material que compõe essa organela. Uma dessas teorias, proposta por alguns autores, sugere que o CB se origine a partir de material nucleolar, que se fragmenta nas etapas iniciais da espermatogênese e, em seguida, migra para o citoplasma. O objetivo do presente estudo foi acompanhar o ciclo nucleolar por meio de análises citoquímicas – hematoxilina-eosina (HE); azul de toluidina (AT); variante da concentração crítica de eletrólitos (CEC); reação de Feulgen; impregnação por íons prata (AgNOR); citogenéticas – impregnação por íons prata (AgNOR), e análises ultra-estruturais – microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), para verificar a relação da fragmentação do material nucleolar com a formação do corpo cromatóide (CB), em algumas espécies de vertebrados: Tilapia rendalli (Teleostei, Cichlidae); Dendropsophus minutus (Amphibia, Anura); Phrynops geoffroanus (Reptilia, Testudines) e coelho albino da raça Nova Zelândia – Oryctolagus cuniculus (Mammalia, Lagomorpha). Por meio das análises citoquímicas foi possível observar que ocorre uma fragmentação do material nucleolar no início da prófase I, em todas as espécies analisadas, e uma posterior reorganização do nucléolo no núcleo de espermátides iniciais, com uma área significantemente menor do que a área do nucléolo das espermatogônias. Três fenômenos podem contribuir para essa diferença significante entre as áreas nucleolar de espermatogônias e espermátides: a) Modificação no estado funcional da célula; b) Diminuição no número de RONs nas espermátides; c) Migração de material nucleolar fragmentado... / The chromatoid body (CB) is a cytoplasmic organelle that has a function related to RNA and protein accumulation and ⁄ or storage for later germ-cell differentiation. Many theories have been postulated in order to explain the origins of the CB material. One of the most accepted theory describes that it originates from a nucleolar material, where it was fragmented in the early spermatogenesis, and finally, this fragmented nucleolar material migrates to cytoplasm. The aims of the present study were: 1) monitoring the nucleolar material distribution by means of cytochemical techniques (hematoxylin–eosin (HE), toluidine blue (TB), modified Critical Electrolyte Concentration for detecting RNA (CEC), silver-ion impregnation (AgNOR) and Feulgen reaction), and by ultrastructural analysis (Transmission Electron Microscopy – TEM); and 2) comparing the nucleolar material distribution with the formation of CB in some vertebrate species: Tilapia rendalli (Teleostei, Cichlidae); Dendropsophus minutus (Amphibia, Anura); Phrynops geoffroanus (Reptilia, Testudines); and Oryctolagus cuniculus (Mammalia, Lagomorpha). For all analyzed species, the cytochemical techniques showed that the nucleolar fragmentation occurred during the beginning of prophase I, and the nucleolus reorganization occurred in the early spermatids nucleus. Statistical tests evidenced that area of the early spermatids nucleolus were smaller than the spermatogonia nucleolus area. Three phenomena can contribute for the statistical difference between the spermatogonia nucleolar area and the early spermatids nucleolar area: a) Modification of cell activity; b) Decrease of the number of NORs in the spermatids; c) Migration of the fragmented nucleolar material from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This nucleolar material will participate in the CB formation process. The ultrastructural analysis showed an ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Maria Tercília Vilela de Azeredo Oliveira / Banca: Maria Luiza Silveira Mello / Banca: Reinaldo Azoubel / Banca: Carlos Alberto Vicentini / Banca: Eliana Morielle Versute / Resumo: O corpo cromatóide (CB) é uma organela citoplasmática que, aparentemente, possui um papel no estoque de RNA e proteínas para a diferenciação final dos espermatozóides. Existem algumas teorias que tentam explicar a origem do material que compõe essa organela. Uma dessas teorias, proposta por alguns autores, sugere que o CB se origine a partir de material nucleolar, que se fragmenta nas etapas iniciais da espermatogênese e, em seguida, migra para o citoplasma. O objetivo do presente estudo foi acompanhar o ciclo nucleolar por meio de análises citoquímicas - hematoxilina-eosina (HE); azul de toluidina (AT); variante da concentração crítica de eletrólitos (CEC); reação de Feulgen; impregnação por íons prata (AgNOR); citogenéticas - impregnação por íons prata (AgNOR), e análises ultra-estruturais - microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), para verificar a relação da fragmentação do material nucleolar com a formação do corpo cromatóide (CB), em algumas espécies de vertebrados: Tilapia rendalli (Teleostei, Cichlidae); Dendropsophus minutus (Amphibia, Anura); Phrynops geoffroanus (Reptilia, Testudines) e coelho albino da raça Nova Zelândia - Oryctolagus cuniculus (Mammalia, Lagomorpha). Por meio das análises citoquímicas foi possível observar que ocorre uma fragmentação do material nucleolar no início da prófase I, em todas as espécies analisadas, e uma posterior reorganização do nucléolo no núcleo de espermátides iniciais, com uma área significantemente menor do que a área do nucléolo das espermatogônias. Três fenômenos podem contribuir para essa diferença significante entre as áreas nucleolar de espermatogônias e espermátides: a) Modificação no estado funcional da célula; b) Diminuição no número de RONs nas espermátides; c) Migração de material nucleolar fragmentado ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The chromatoid body (CB) is a cytoplasmic organelle that has a function related to RNA and protein accumulation and ⁄ or storage for later germ-cell differentiation. Many theories have been postulated in order to explain the origins of the CB material. One of the most accepted theory describes that it originates from a nucleolar material, where it was fragmented in the early spermatogenesis, and finally, this fragmented nucleolar material migrates to cytoplasm. The aims of the present study were: 1) monitoring the nucleolar material distribution by means of cytochemical techniques (hematoxylin-eosin (HE), toluidine blue (TB), modified Critical Electrolyte Concentration for detecting RNA (CEC), silver-ion impregnation (AgNOR) and Feulgen reaction), and by ultrastructural analysis (Transmission Electron Microscopy - TEM); and 2) comparing the nucleolar material distribution with the formation of CB in some vertebrate species: Tilapia rendalli (Teleostei, Cichlidae); Dendropsophus minutus (Amphibia, Anura); Phrynops geoffroanus (Reptilia, Testudines); and Oryctolagus cuniculus (Mammalia, Lagomorpha). For all analyzed species, the cytochemical techniques showed that the nucleolar fragmentation occurred during the beginning of prophase I, and the nucleolus reorganization occurred in the early spermatids nucleus. Statistical tests evidenced that area of the early spermatids nucleolus were smaller than the spermatogonia nucleolus area. Three phenomena can contribute for the statistical difference between the spermatogonia nucleolar area and the early spermatids nucleolar area: a) Modification of cell activity; b) Decrease of the number of NORs in the spermatids; c) Migration of the fragmented nucleolar material from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This nucleolar material will participate in the CB formation process. The ultrastructural analysis showed an ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor