Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.30.2 (endonuclease)
 18,621 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Five 13- to 18-month old Belgian Blue bulls were used in this experiment. Four bulls (Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5) were inoculated intratesticularly with 10(5) plaque-forming units of bovine herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) in each testicle (Day 0). The challenge BHV-4 strain was previously isolated from testicle cells of a bull exhibiting orchitis and azoospermia. The fifth bull (No. 1) was used as a control and received the same volume of uninfected cell culture supernatant. For 5 days, beginning on Day 51 post-infection, two bulls (Nos. 4 and 5) and the control bull (No. 1) received 0.1 mg kg-1 of dexamethasone. Unilateral castrations were then performed at regular intervals for viral examination. Treatment with dexamethasone reactivated latent BHV-4, but no clinical signs were observed in treated bulls until the end of the experiment (Day 93). Only Bull 3 showed conjunctivitis and temporary azoospermia. The virus was recovered from various samples showing that: (i) BHV-4 can be present in a latent state in the testicles and mononuclear blood cells; (ii) dexamethasone reactivates the virus; (iii) the virus is excreted by nasal and ocular routes. Each infected bull seroconverted and a booster antibody response appeared after dexamethasone treatment as shown by immunofluorescence. Neutralizing antibodies were detected in each bull by complement-dependent neutralization test with titres higher than those obtained by a classical neutralization test. No booster response of neutralizing antibodies was observed after dexamethasone treatment. The antigenically relevant envelope BHV-4 proteins were identified by Western blotting using sera samples from the animals. DNA restriction endonuclease profiles of viruses reisolated after primary infection and reactivation showed only small differences.
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PMID:Experimental infection of bulls with a genital isolate of bovine herpesvirus-4 and reactivation of latent virus with dexamethasone. 255 42

Small non-coding RNAs act as critical regulators of gene expression and are essential for male germ cell development and spermatogenesis. Previously, we showed that germ cell-specific inactivation of Dicer1, an endonuclease essential for the biogenesis of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and endogenous small interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs), led to complete male infertility due to alterations in meiotic progression, increased spermatocyte apoptosis and defects in the maturation of spermatozoa. To dissect the distinct physiological roles of miRNAs and endo-siRNAs in spermatogenesis, we compared the testicular phenotype of mice with Dicer1 or Dgcr8 depletion in male germ cells. Dgcr8 mutant mice, which have a defective miRNA pathway while retaining an intact endo-siRNA pathway, were also infertile and displayed similar defects, although less severe, to Dicer1 mutant mice. These included cumulative defects in meiotic and haploid phases of spermatogenesis, resulting in oligo-, terato-, and azoospermia. In addition, we found by RNA sequencing of purified spermatocytes that inactivation of Dicer1 and the resulting absence of miRNAs affected the fine tuning of protein-coding gene expression by increasing low level gene expression. Overall, these results emphasize the essential role of miRNAs in the progression of spermatogenesis, but also indicate a role for endo-siRNAs in this process.
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PMID:Germ cell-specific targeting of DICER or DGCR8 reveals a novel role for endo-siRNAs in the progression of mammalian spermatogenesis and male fertility. 2524 17

Dicer, an RNAse III endonuclease, is critical for the biogenesis of small noncoding RNAs (microRNAs), including the biogenesis of microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, which transcriptionally and post-transcription ally regulate mRNA expression through binding to target mRNA and leading to subsequent mRNA degradation. Recent studies show that Dicer plays important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. It has been attracted more and more attention in the reproductive field. In the male reproduction field, mouse model shows that Dicer is critical for the development of spermatogenic cell, sperm maturation, sperm motility and morphology. On the other hand, Dicer is broadly involved in not only follicular development, ovulation, luteinization, sex hormone synthesis, but also regulating the functions of the fallopian tube, endometrial receptivity in female reproduction. Since sperm and egg are the only two types of gametes for producing offspring, Dicer dysregulation may be the underlying cause of compromised embryo development through affecting the quantity or quality of sperm and eggs. Therefore, understanding the function of Dicer in reproduction of female and male is of great significance to study the pathogenetic mechanism related to dysfunctional reproduction, such as azoospermia and recurrent spontaneous abortion. We review the pivotal roles of Dicer in the male and female reproduction field in order to understand the relationship between Dicer and related disease.
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PMID:Research advances of Dicer in regulating reproductive function. 2773 34