Different Effects of Androgen on the Expression of Fut1, Fut2, Fut4 and Fut9 in Male Mouse Reproductive Tract

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Chun-Mei Wang¹  Shuang-Gang Hu¹  Yan-Fei Ru¹  Guang-Xin Yao¹  Wu-Bin Ma¹  Yi-Hua Gu¹  Chen Chu¹  Shou-Lin Wang³  Zuo-Min Zhou²  Qiang Liu¹  Yu-Chuan Zhou¹ 

[1] Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; E-Mails:;State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China; E-Mail:;State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; E-Mail:

关键词: fucosyltransferase;    androgen;    male reproductive tract;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms141123188

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The α-(1,2) fucosyltransferases (Fut1 and Fut2) and α-(1,3) fucosyltransferases (Fut4, Fut9) are responsible for the synthesis of Lewis X (LeX) and Lewis Y (LeY) conjugated to glycoproteins. We recently reported that these fucosyltransferases were differentially expressed in the reproductive tract of male mouse. Here, we studied the effect of androgen on fucosyltransferase expression through the use of mouse castration models. We found that Fut1 mRNA and Fut4 mRNA were upregulated, while Fut2 mRNA and Fut9 mRNA were downregulated by androgen in the caput epididymis. However, in the vas deferens and prostate, only Fut4 mRNA and Fut2 mRNA were respectively upregulated following exposure to androgen. In the seminal vesicle, all fucosyltransferases, with the exception of Fut9, were upregulated. We identified the androgen receptor binding sites (ARBSs) of Fut2, Fut4 and Fut9 in the caput epididymis. Luciferase assay for these ARBSs is able to provide an indication as to why Fut4 and Fut9 are differently expressed and regulated by androgen, although they catalyze the same α-(1,3) fucose linkage. Our study showed that androgen could differentially regulate the expression of these fucosyltransferases and provided an insight into the characteristic distribution of each fucosyltransferase responsible for LeX/LeY biosynthesis in the male reproductive tract.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland