期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2001
卷号：98
期号：12
页码：6581-6586
DOI：10.1073/pnas.121046998
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：A previously unidentified gonadotropin-regulated long chain acyl-CoA synthetase (GR-LACS) was cloned and characterized as a 79-kDa cytoplasmic protein expressed in Leydig cells of the rat testis. GR-LACS shares sequence identity with two conserved regions of the LACS and luciferase families, including the ATP/AMP binding domain and the 25-aa fatty acyl-CoA synthetase signature motif, but displays low overall amino acid similarities (23-28%). GR-LACS mRNA is expressed abundantly in Leydig cells of the adult testis and to a lesser degree in the seminiferous tubules in spermatogonia and Sertoli cells. It is also observed in ovary and brain. Immunoreactive protein expression was observed mainly in Leydig cells and minimally in the tubules but was not detected in other tissues. In vivo, treatment with a desensitizing dose of human chorionic gonadotropin caused transcriptional down-regulation of GR-LACS expression in Leydig cells. The expressed protein present in the cytoplasm of transfected cells displayed acyl-CoA synthetase activity for long chain fatty acid substrates. GR-LACS may contribute to the provision of energy requirements and to the biosynthesis of steroid precursors and could participate through acyl-CoA's multiple functions in the regulation of the male gonad.
