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SUMO modified proteins localize to the XY body of pachytene spermatocytes

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Abstract

The XY body is a specialized chromatin territory that forms during meiotic prophase of spermatogenesis and comprises the transcriptionally repressed sex chromosomes. Remodeling of the XY chromatin is brought about by recruitment of specific proteins to the X and Y chromosomes during meiosis, and also by post-translational modifications of histones and other chromatin-associated proteins. Here, we demonstrate that SUMO, a small ubiquitin-related modifier protein that regulates a wide variety of nuclear functions in somatic cells, dramatically localizes to the XY body. SUMO was first detected in the XY body of early pachytene spermatocytes and gradually accumulated, reaching maximal levels there during the mid to late pachytene stages. Several known SUMO substrates, including PML and DAXX, were also found to accumulate in the XY body of mid to late stage pachytene spermatocytes. These same proteins localize to PML nuclear bodies of somatic interphase nuclei. Together, these findings indicate a role for SUMO modification in regulating the structure and function of the XY body and reveal molecular similarities between the XY body and PML nuclear bodies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Bill Wright for assistance in rat germ cell purification and Janet Folmer for assistance in preparing polyester wax testis sections. We also gratefully acknowledge Drs. Anne Pluta and Gerd Maul for their generosity in sharing antibody reagents and Dr. Pier Paolo Pandolfi for providing PML (−/−) mice for this study. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health awarded to M.J.M. (R01 GM60980) and to M.A.H. (R01 HD33816).

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  1. Richard S. Rogers

    Present address: The Institute for Systems Biology, 1441 N 34 Street, Seattle, WA 98103-8904, USA

  2. Amy Inselman

    Present address: Laboratory for Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle ParkNC , NC 27709, USA

  3. Mary Ann Handel

    Present address: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

    Richard S. Rogers & Michael J. Matunis

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

    Amy Inselman & Mary Ann Handel

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  1. Richard S. Rogers
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Correspondence to Michael J. Matunis.

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Communicated by E.A. Nigg

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Rogers, R.S., Inselman, A., Handel, M.A. et al. SUMO modified proteins localize to the XY body of pachytene spermatocytes. Chromosoma 113, 233–243 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0311-7

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