Post-meiotic expression of the mouse dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 3 (DRP-3) gene during spermiogenesis

The dihydropyrimidinase-related protein (DRP) family, originally identified in humans by their homology to dihydropyrimidinase, contains at least four members. Genes of this family, and their counterparts in other mammals and chickens, are expressed mainly in fetal and neonatal brain, suggesting that the encoded proteins have a physiological role in the development of the central nervous system. In addition, the DRP-3 gene is expressed in testis as a shorter mRNA than the brain form. As a first step in understanding the extra-neuronal function of DRP-3, the structure and expression of testis DRP-3 were examined. Testis DRP-3 cDNA showed the same sequence as brain DRP-3 cDNA, except for the 5'-terminal end, which encodes a 5'-untranslated region and the 11 N-terminal amino acid residues, indicating that the two forms of DRP-3 mRNA were transcribed from a single copy gene. Northern blotting analysis detected DRP-3 mRNA in 30-, 40- and 70-day-old, but not in 10- and 20-day-old testes. In situ hybridization analysis indicated that the expression of DRP-3 in testis is restricted to post-meiotic round spermatids. This is the first report of the expression of DRP genes in extra-neuronal cells.