Murine homologues of the Drosophila gustavus gene are expressed in ovarian granulosa cells

Mammalian homologues of genes that control oogenesis in other organisms may play similar roles in mammalian ovarian development. In Drosophila melanogaster, GUSTAVUS (GUS) protein physically interacts with and is necessary for the proper posterior localization of VASA protein, and thus is required for specification of germ cells. We identified two mouse genes, SSB-1 and SSB-4 (SPRY domain SOCS box protein), whose protein products share 75% identity and are each approximately 70% identical to Drosophila GUS. Both SSB-1 and SSB-4 mRNA were detectable in mouse ovaries by Northern blotting of total and poly(A) + RNA, but were expressed in few other tissues. SSB-1 was detectable in testes, although the 3'-untranslated region of the mRNA was considerably shorter than the ovarian mRNA. In situ hybridization and RT-PCR analysis of ovaries revealed that both genes were expressed in granulosa cells at all stages of follicular development. In contrast, expression was barely detectable in in oocytes. Immunoblotting analysis revealed that SSB-1 protein was present in follicles at different stages of growth, and immunocytochemistry confirmed that SSB-1 and SSB-4 were detectable in granulosa cells of primary and subsequent stage follicles and that they were present in both mural and cumulus granulosa cells of antral follicles. These results establish that GUS-related proteins, which in Drosophila are restricted to the germ cells, are in the mouse instead expressed in the granulosa cells and are present throughout folliculogenesis. Based on their tissue-restricted pattern of expression and apparent abundance in granulosa cells, we propose that SSB-1 and SSB-4 play key roles in regulating granulosa cell physiology.