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Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure

Metallothionein (MT) is the main protein involved in the homeostasis of metallic micronutrients and in cellular defence against heavy metals and reactive oxygen species. Found in almost all vertebrate tissues, MT presence and localization in the testis has been controversial. In the present study, b...

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Autores principales: Verderame, Mariailaria, Limatola, Ermelinda, Scudiero, Rosaria
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: PAGEPress Publications, Pavia, Italy 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641668/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28735517
http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2017.2777
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author Verderame, Mariailaria
Limatola, Ermelinda
Scudiero, Rosaria
author_facet Verderame, Mariailaria
Limatola, Ermelinda
Scudiero, Rosaria
author_sort Verderame, Mariailaria
collection PubMed
description Metallothionein (MT) is the main protein involved in the homeostasis of metallic micronutrients and in cellular defence against heavy metals and reactive oxygen species. Found in almost all vertebrate tissues, MT presence and localization in the testis has been controversial. In the present study, by using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis we assessed the localization of both MT transcript and protein in Podarcis sicula testes during two different phases of the reproductive cycle: the autumnal resumption and the springearly summer mating period. In addition, with the same methodological approach, we verified the effect of estradiol-1711and nonylphenol, a potent xenoestrogen, on MT expression and synthesis. These results, the first collected in a non-mammalian oviparous vertebrate, demonstrated that the expression profile of MT mRNA and protein changes during the reproductive cycle. In the fall resumption, MT transcripts are absent in spermatogonia and present in all the other cells of tubules, including spermatozoa; vice versa, the MT protein is evident only in spermatozoa and somatic cells. In the mating period, both MT transcripts and proteins are present in spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids, whereas in the spermatozoa only the proteins are detected, thus suggesting that the MTs translated in the earlier germinal stages are stored up to spermatozoa. Results also demonstrated that in lizard testis the expression of MT gene undergoes a cell-specific regulation after estrogenic exposure; the possible role and the mechanism by which this regulation occurs have been discussed.
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spelling pubmed-56416682017-11-08 Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure Verderame, Mariailaria Limatola, Ermelinda Scudiero, Rosaria Eur J Histochem Original Paper Metallothionein (MT) is the main protein involved in the homeostasis of metallic micronutrients and in cellular defence against heavy metals and reactive oxygen species. Found in almost all vertebrate tissues, MT presence and localization in the testis has been controversial. In the present study, by using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis we assessed the localization of both MT transcript and protein in Podarcis sicula testes during two different phases of the reproductive cycle: the autumnal resumption and the springearly summer mating period. In addition, with the same methodological approach, we verified the effect of estradiol-1711and nonylphenol, a potent xenoestrogen, on MT expression and synthesis. These results, the first collected in a non-mammalian oviparous vertebrate, demonstrated that the expression profile of MT mRNA and protein changes during the reproductive cycle. In the fall resumption, MT transcripts are absent in spermatogonia and present in all the other cells of tubules, including spermatozoa; vice versa, the MT protein is evident only in spermatozoa and somatic cells. In the mating period, both MT transcripts and proteins are present in spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids, whereas in the spermatozoa only the proteins are detected, thus suggesting that the MTs translated in the earlier germinal stages are stored up to spermatozoa. Results also demonstrated that in lizard testis the expression of MT gene undergoes a cell-specific regulation after estrogenic exposure; the possible role and the mechanism by which this regulation occurs have been discussed. PAGEPress Publications, Pavia, Italy 2017-05-03 /pmc/articles/PMC5641668/ /pubmed/28735517 http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2017.2777 Text en ©Copyright A. Fadeyibi et al., 2017 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (by-nc 4.0) which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Verderame, Mariailaria
Limatola, Ermelinda
Scudiero, Rosaria
Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title_full Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title_fullStr Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title_full_unstemmed Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title_short Metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard Podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
title_sort metallothionein expression and synthesis in the testis of the lizard podarcis sicula under natural conditions and following estrogenic exposure
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641668/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28735517
http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2017.2777
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