Characterization of androgen receptor structure and nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of the rice field eel.

ABSTRACT: Androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in prostate cancer and male sexual differentiation. We have identified AR from a primitive vertebrate with a sex reversal characteristic, the rice field eel. AR of this species (eAR) is distinct from human AR, especially in the ligand binding domain (LBD), and its expression in gonads shows an increasing tendency during gonadal transformation from ovary via ovotestis to testis. eAR has a restricted androgen-dependent transactivation function after a nuclear translocation upon dihydrotestosterone exposure. A functional nuclear localization signal was further identified in the DNA binding domain and hinge region. Although nuclear export is CRM1-independent, eAR has a novel nuclear export signal, which is negatively charged, indicating that a nucle

SUBMITTER: Zhou F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2978631 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature