ISOLATION OF A PHYLOGENETICALLY CONSERVED AND TESTIS-SPECIFIC GENE USING A MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY AGAINST THE SEROLOGICAL H-Y-ANTIGEN

Several cDNA clones of a gene termed male-enhanced antigen-2 (Mea-2), have been isolated from a mouse testicular expression cDNA library using a monoclonal histocompatability Y (H-Ys) antibody which detects specific protein(s) present in the mouse testis but not the ovary. The Mea-2 gene is phylogenetically conserved among various mammalian species examined, and is expressed at high levels in adult mouse testis. The expression pattern of Mea-2 is very similar to that of another gene, the male-enhanced antigen-1 (Mea-1), previously isolated using a polyclonal H-Ys antibody. Northern blotting and RT-PCR analyses demonstrated that Mea-2 is also expressed in other adult and fetal mouse organs at low levels. The testis-enhanced expression of this gene is associated with germ cell development at mid- to latemeiotic stages of spermatogenesis. Analysis of an intersubspecies mouse backcross has assigned this gene to chromosome 5, between the loci Gus and Hnf-1.