Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P56851 (epididymal)
 11,273 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Epididymal epithelium is well known as a site of secretion of various proteins present in epididymal luminal fluid. Although there have been many reports of primary cultures of epididymal epithelial cells, their growth is limited over time. We have established immortalized epididymal epithelial cell lines from primary cultures of epididymal cells from transgenic mice harboring temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T-antigen gene in order to study the regulatory mechanisms of epididymal function, including specific factor secretion. These cell lines (PC1 from proximal caput; and DC1, DC2, and DC3 from distal caput) have been maintained for more than 1 year and show temperature-dependent growth and expression of cytokeratin, a marker of epithelial cells. These cells express the androgen receptor as well as markers of the murine epididymal epithelium, PEB-like protein (ie, phosphatidye ethanolamine binding protein), E-RABP (ie, epididymal retinoic acid-binding protein), and EP17 (ie, epididymal protein of 17 kd). The androgen-regulated 5-kilobase mE-RABP promoter DNA fragment ligated to the neomycin-resistant gene was used for stable transfection of DC1 cells. Because the mE-RABP gene is specifically expressed in the distal caput, neomycin selection provides a pure population of epithelial cells from that segment. This neomycin-resistant immortalized cell line from the distal caput was cultured for more than 6 months. Such immortalized cell lines should be valuable tools for studying the regulation of tissue-specific gene expression, and may be used to identify one or more epididymal specific transcription factors involved in the expression of epididymal specific proteins.
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PMID:Immortalized epididymal cell lines from transgenic mice overexpressing temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T-antigen gene. 1239 33

The cystatin-related epididymal spermatogenic (CRES) protein is related to the family 2 cystatins of the cystatin superfamily of cysteine protease inhibitors. However, CRES lacks sequences important for cysteine protease inhibitory activity and is specifically expressed in reproductive and neuroendocrine tissues. Thus, CRES is distinct from cystatins and may perform unique tissue-specific functions. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether CRES functions as a protease inhibitor in in vitro assays. In contrast to mouse recombinant cystatin C, recombinant CRES did not inhibit the cysteine proteases papain and cathepsin B, suggesting that it probably does not function as a typical cystatin. CRES, however, inhibited the serine protease prohormone convertase 2 (PC2), a protease involved in prohormone processing in the neuroendocrine system, whereas cystatin C showed no inhibition. CRES did not inhibit subtilisin, trypsin, or the convertase family members, PC1 and furin, indicating that it selectively inhibits PC2. Kinetic analysis showed that CRES is a competitive inhibitor of PC2 with a K(i) of 25 nM. The removal of N-terminal sequences from CRES decreased its affinity for PC2, suggesting that the N terminus may be important for CRES to function as an inhibitor. These studies suggest that CRES is a cross-class inhibitor that may regulate proprotein processing within the reproductive and neuroendocrine systems.
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PMID:The cystatin-related epididymal spermatogenic protein inhibits the serine protease prohormone convertase 2. 1258 66

Steroid 5alpha-reductase converts testosterone to the more potent androgen, dihydrotestosterone. The molecular mechanisms responsible for maintaining high concentrations of the 5alpha-reductase type 2 mRNA in the caput epididymidis and for regulating its region-specific expression are unknown. To gain insight into its transcriptional regulation, the cloning and characterization of the 5' upstream region of 5alpha-reductase type 2 were undertaken. Sequential deletion analysis was done to map the 2243-base pair (bp) cloned 5' upstream region, and the constructs were transfected into epididymal PC1 cells and prostatic PC3 cells. In both cell lines, regulatory elements and the minimal promoter were mapped to the 485-bp region upstream of the start codon. Primer extension and 5' RACE identified one transcriptional start site at 33-bp upstream of the start codon. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assay, a specific band was observed in the -68- to -32-bp region in the presence of nuclear extracts. Supershift and mutational studies confirmed the binding of SP1 and, to a lesser extent, SP3 to the two potential SP1 binding sites and the preference of these proteins to one binding site over the other. SP1 and SP3 were both predominantly immunolocalized to the principal cells of the epididymis and follow distinct distribution patterns in this tissue. These results provide a framework crucial in the further investigation of the transcriptional regulation of 5alpha-reductase type 2 in the rat epididymis.
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PMID:Cloning and characterization of the 5alpha-reductase type 2 promoter in the rat epididymis. 1557 29

Epididymitis represents a serious threat to male fertility and usually develops following secondary bacterial infection of the epididymis such as urinary tract infections or sexually transmitted diseases. Surprisingly, very little is known about the innate host response triggered by bacterial infection in the male reproductive tract. In this study we investigated the regulation and function of Nod2 in epididymal epithelial cells following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. The immortalized epididymal epithelial cell line PC1 (proximal caput 1) constitutively expressed Toll-like receptor 4, MD-2, CD-14 but not Nod2 messenger RNA. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.5 microg/ml) rapidly induced I kappaB phosphorylation and degradation, RelA nuclear translocation and phosphorylation, which correlated with enhanced transcriptional activity (four-fold) in PC1 cells. The LPS and lipid A rapidly (1 hr) induced Nod2 messenger RNA accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. RelA and RNApolII recruitment to the Nod2 gene promoter was enhanced in LPS-stimulated cells. Molecular blockade of nuclear factor-kappaB signalling with adenovirus 5 (Ad5) I kappaB AA or adenovirus 5 double-negative (Ad5dn) IKK beta prevented LPS-induced Nod2 gene expression. Functionally, Nod2 upregulation enhanced muramyl dipeptide (MDP) -induced tumour necrosis factor messenger RNA accumulation in PC1 cells. We conclude that epididymal epithelial cells mount an innate response following LPS exposure which leads to upregulation of Nod2 and enhanced responsiveness to the microbial product MDP. The rapid Nod2 upregulation in epididymal epithelial cells is probably part of a complex innate host response aimed at protecting the male reproductive tract from the deleterious impact of bacteria.
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PMID:Regulation and functional impact of lipopolysaccharide induced Nod2 gene expression in the murine epididymal epithelial cell line PC1. 1828 70