Cloning and characterization of a complementary deoxyribonucleic acid encoding haploid-specific alanine-rich acidic...

We have isolated a cDNA clone encoding a germ cell-specific protein from an expression cDNA library prepared from the mouse testis using testis-specific polyclonal antibodies. Northern blot analysis showed a transcript of 1.1 kilobases exclusively expressed in haploid germ cells of the testis. Sequence analysis of the cDNA revealed one long open reading frame consisting of 238 deduced amino acids, rich in basic amino acids in the N-terminal one-third that also contained the nuclear localization signal, and rich in acidic amino acids, including two type of acidic alanine-rich repeats, in the rest of the deduced protein. The protein having a molecular weight of approximately 55 kDa and an isoelectric point of pH 4.3-4.7 was also exclusively detected in the testis by Western blot analysis. As the cDNA was located on chromosome-X, Halap-X (haploid-specific alanine-rich acidic protein located on chromosome-X) was proposed for the name of the protein encoded by the cDNA. Immunohistochemical observation revealed that the Halap-X protein was predominantly present in the nucleoplasm of round spermatids but gradually decreased as spermatids matured, followed by the subsequent appearance in the cytoplasm of elongating spermatids. Thus, the Halap-X protein was transferred from the nuclei to the cytoplasm during the spermatid maturation when the chromatin condensation and transformation of the nuclei occurred. The Halap-X may facilitate specific association of nuclear DNA with some basic chromosomal proteins and play important roles in the process of chromatin condensation.