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Sexually Dimorphic Expression of the Novel Germ Cell Antigen TEX101 Reactive Protein During Mouse Gonad Development Takayama T, et al .
Prospermatogonia or gonocytes are the cells that differentiation from primordial germ cells to the first mature type spermatogonia in the developing testis. Although prospermatogonia play a central role in this stage (i.e., prespermatogenesis) the details regarding their characterization have not been fully elucidated. Recently, we identified a novel mouse testicular germ cell-specific antigen, TES101 reactive protein (TES101RP), in the adult mouse testis. The protein TES101RP is also designated as protein TEX101. In the present study, we investigated the expression of TEX101 on germ cells in developing mouse gonads using histochemical techniques (i.e., immunohistochemistry, BrdU labeling, and TUNEL staining) and RT-PCR. TEX101 appeared on germ cells in both the male and female gonads after the pregonadal period. In the testis, TEX101 was expressed constitutively on surviving prospermatogonia during prespermatogenesis. After the initiation of spermatogenesis, the prospermatogonia differentiated into spermatogonia. TEX101 expression disappeared from the spermatogonia, but reappeared on spermatocytes and spermatids. In the ovary, TEX101 was expressed on germ cells until the start of folliculogenesis; TEX101 was not detected on oocytes that were surrounded by follicular cells. These findings indicate that TEX101 is a specific marker for both male and female germ cells during gonadal development. Since the switching on and off of TEX101 expression in germ cells almost parallels the kinetics of gametogenesis, TEX101 may play an important physiological role in germ cell development.
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