The elusive MAESTRO gene: Its human reproductive tissue-specific expression pattern

Shlomit Kenigsberg; Patricia D A Lima; Leila Maghen; Brandon A Wyse; Chantal Lackan; Annie N Y Cheung; Benjamin K Tsang; Clifford L Librach

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0174873

The elusive MAESTRO gene: Its human reproductive tissue-specific expression pattern

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 13;12(4):e0174873. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174873. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Shlomit Kenigsberg¹, Patricia D A Lima², Leila Maghen¹, Brandon A Wyse¹, Chantal Lackan¹, Annie N Y Cheung³, Benjamin K Tsang^{2

4

5

6

7}, Clifford L Librach^{1

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ CReATe Fertility Centre, Toronto, Canada.
² Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
³ Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
⁵ Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
⁶ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
⁷ Chronic Disease Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁹ Department of Gynecology, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

The encoded transcript of the Maestro-Male-specific Transcription in the developing Reproductive Organs (MRO) gene exhibits sexual dimorphic expression during murine gonadal development. The gene has no homology to any known gene and its expression pattern, protein function or structure are still unknown. Previously, studying gene expression in human ovarian cumulus cells, we found increased expression of MRO in lean-type Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) subjects, as compared to controls. In this study, we examined the MRO splice variants and protein expression pattern in various human tissues and cells. We found a differential expression pattern of the MRO 5'-UTR region in luteinized granulosa-cumulus cells and in testicular tissues as compared to non-gonadal tissues. Our study also shows a punctate nuclear expression pattern and disperse cytoplasmic expression pattern of the MRO protein in human granulosa-cumulus cells and in testicular germ cells, which was later validated by western blotting. The tentative and unique features of the protein hampered our efforts to gain more insight about this elusive protein. A better understanding of the tissue-specific MRO isoforms expression patterns and the unique structure of the protein may provide important insights into the function of this gene and possibly to the pathophysiology of PCOS.

MeSH terms

5' Untranslated Regions*
Adult
Cell Nucleus / metabolism
Cytoplasm
Female
Gene Expression Regulation / physiology*
Germ Cells / cytology
Germ Cells / metabolism*
Granulosa Cells / cytology
Granulosa Cells / metabolism*
Humans
Male
Neoplasm Proteins / biosynthesis*
Protein Isoforms / biosynthesis
Testis / cytology
Testis / metabolism*

Substances

5' Untranslated Regions
MRO protein, human
Neoplasm Proteins
Protein Isoforms

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (MOP- 119381). The study was funded by CReATe Program Inc., and in part by grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (MOP-119381). Patricia Daniele Azevedo Lima (PDAL) is a recipient of a CIHR-QTNPR Postdoctoral Fellowship. CReATe Program Inc. provided support in the form of salaries for SK, CL, BAW and research materials. CReATe Program Inc. is part of the CReATe Fertility Centre, a private reproductive health care facility that commits a significant part of its annual earnings towards research in human reproduction. The principal investigator of this study, CLL, is the sole owner of CReATe Program Inc. and is affiliated with the University of Toronto. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the “author contributions” section of the manuscript, and include roles in study design and review of the manuscript.