This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nagamatsu, G.
Right arrow Articles by Ohbo, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nagamatsu, G.
Right arrow Articles by Ohbo, K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2006, p. 8498-8506, Vol. 26, No. 22
0270-7306/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.01502-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A CTX Family Cell Adhesion Molecule, JAM4, Is Expressed in Stem Cell and Progenitor Cell Populations of both Male Germ Cell and Hematopoietic Cell Lineages{triangledown}

Go Nagamatsu,1 Masako Ohmura,1 Takuo Mizukami,2 Isao Hamaguchi,2 Susumu Hirabayashi,3 Shosei Yoshida,4 Yutaka Hata,3 Toshio Suda,1 and Kazuyuki Ohbo1,5*

Sakaguchi Laboratory, Department of Cell Differentiation, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan,1 Department of Safety Research on Blood and Biological Products, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan,2 Department of Medical Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8482, Japan,3 Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan,4 School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan,55

Received 12 August 2006/ Accepted 31 August 2006

Stem cells are maintained in an undifferentiated state by interacting with a microenvironment known as the "niche," which is comprised of various secreted and membrane proteins. Our goal was to identify niche molecules participating in stem cell-stem cell and/or stem cell-supporting cell interactions. Here, we isolated genes encoding secreted and membrane proteins from purified male germ stem cells using a signal sequence trap approach. Among the genes identified, we focused on the junctional adhesion molecule 4 (JAM4), an immunoglobulin type cell adhesion molecule. JAM4 protein was actually localized to the plasma membrane in male germ cells. JAM4 expression was downregulated as cells differentiated in both germ cell and hematopoietic cell lineages. To analyze function in vivo, we generated JAM4-deficient mice. Histological analysis of testes from homozygous nulls did not show obvious abnormalities, nor did liver and kidney tissues, both of which strongly express JAM4. The numbers of hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow were indistinguishable between wild-type and mutant mice, as was male germ cell development. These results suggest that JAM4 is expressed in stem cells and progenitor cells but that other cell adhesion molecules may substitute for JAM4 function in JAM4-deficient mice both in male germ cell and hematopoietic lineages.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Histology and Cell Biology School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, 3-9, Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan 236-0004. Phone 81-45-787-2567. Fax: 81-45-787-2568. E-mail: kohbo{at}yokohama-cu.ac.jp.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 18 September 2006.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2006, p. 8498-8506, Vol. 26, No. 22
0270-7306/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.01502-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Mirza, M., Petersen, C., Nordqvist, K., Sollerbrant, K. (2007). Coxsackievirus and Adenovirus Receptor Is Up-Regulated in Migratory Germ Cells during Passage of the Blood-Testis Barrier. Endocrinology 148: 5459-5469 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bradfield, P. F., Nourshargh, S., Aurrand-Lions, M., Imhof, B. A. (2007). JAM Family and Related Proteins in Leukocyte Migration (Vestweber Series). Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Bio. 27: 2104-2112 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Vigneau, C., Polgar, K., Striker, G., Elliott, J., Hyink, D., Weber, O., Fehling, H.-J., Keller, G., Burrow, C., Wilson, P. (2007). Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Embryoid Bodies Generate Progenitors That Integrate Long Term into Renal Proximal Tubules In Vivo. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 18: 1709-1720 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»