Preliminary Study on Expression and Function of the Chicken W Chromosome Gene MIER3 in Embryonic Gonads

The sex chromosomes of birds are designated Z and W. The male is homogamous (ZZ), and the female is heterogamous (ZW). The chicken W chromosome is a degenerate version of the Z chromosome and harbors only 28 protein-coding genes. We studied the expression pattern of the W chromosome gene MIER3 (showing differential expression during gonadogenesis) in chicken embryonic gonads and its potential role in gonadal development. The W copy of MIER3 (MIER3–W) shows a gonad-biased expression in chicken embryonic tissues which was different from its Z copy. The overall expression of MIER3–W and MIER3–Z mRNA and protein is correlated with the gonadal phenotype being higher in female gonads than in male gonads or female-to-male sex-reversed gonads. Chicken MIER3 protein is highly expressed in the nucleus, with relatively lower expression in the cytoplasm. Overexpression of MIER3–W in male gonad cells suggested its effect on the GnRH signaling pathway, cell proliferation, and cell apoptosis. MIER3 expression is associated with the gonadal phenotype. MIER3 may promote female gonadal development by regulating EGR1 and αGSU genes. These findings enrich our knowledge of chicken W chromosome genes and support a more systematic and in-depth understanding of gonadal development in chickens.

[1]  A. Rajavelu,et al.  27-Hydroxycholesterol, The Estrogen Receptor Modulator, Alters DNA Methylation in Breast Cancer , 2022, Frontiers in Endocrinology.

[2]  H. Yao,et al.  DMRT1 gene disruption alone induces incomplete gonad feminization in chicken , 2021, FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

[3]  A. Major,et al.  The homeobox gene TGIF1 is required for chicken ovarian cortical development and generation of the juxtacortical medulla , 2021, Development.

[4]  Wenqing Huang,et al.  MIER3 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promotes breast cancer cell aggressiveness via forming a co-repressor complex with HDAC1/HDAC2/Snail. , 2021, Experimental cell research.

[5]  Jiuzhou Z. Song,et al.  Role and function of the Hintw in early sex differentiation in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryo , 2021, Animal biotechnology.

[6]  A. Major,et al.  TGIF1 is required for chicken ovarian cortical development and generation of the juxtacortical medulla , 2021, bioRxiv.

[7]  R. Lovell-Badge,et al.  Primary sex determination in birds depends on DMRT1 dosage, but gonadal sex does not determine adult secondary sex characteristics , 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[8]  M. Clinton,et al.  Expression Profile of Chicken Sex Chromosome Gene BTF3 is Linked to Gonadal Phenotype , 2020, Sexual Development.

[9]  S. Eghbalsaied,et al.  Cotreatment of IGF1 and Fadrozole Upregulates the Expression of RSPO1, SOX9, and AMH in Chicken Embryos , 2019, Cells Tissues Organs.

[10]  Yanqing Ding,et al.  MIER3 suppresses colorectal cancer progression by down-regulating Sp1, inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[11]  Timothy B Sackton,et al.  Sex Reversal and Comparative Data Undermine the W Chromosome and Support Z‐linked DMRT1 as the Regulator of Gonadal Sex Differentiation in Birds , 2017, Endocrinology.

[12]  Man Peng,et al.  [Expression of MIER3 in colorectal cancer and bioinformatic analysis of MIER3- interacting proteins]. , 2017, Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University.

[13]  Nancy F. Chen,et al.  Avian W and mammalian Y chromosomes convergently retained dosage-sensitive regulators , 2017, Nature Genetics.

[14]  L. Gillespie,et al.  Differential HDAC1 and 2 Recruitment by Members of the MIER Family , 2017, PloS one.

[15]  Peter W. Harrison,et al.  Compensation of Dosage-Sensitive Genes on the Chicken Z Chromosome , 2016, Genome biology and evolution.

[16]  T. Geng,et al.  Prosteatotic genes are associated with unsaturated fat suppression of saturated fat-induced hepatic steatosis in C57BL/6 mice. , 2015, Nutrition research.

[17]  Shengnan Li,et al.  Insulin and IGF-1, but not 17β-estradiol, alter the subcellular localization of MIER1α in MCF7 breast carcinoma cells , 2015, BMC Research Notes.

[18]  Pavel Soucek,et al.  Differential expression and prognostic role of selected genes in colorectal cancer patients. , 2013, Anticancer research.

[19]  A. Sinclair,et al.  RNA sequencing reveals sexually dimorphic gene expression before gonadal differentiation in chicken and allows comprehensive annotation of the W-chromosome , 2013, Genome Biology.

[20]  A. denDekker,et al.  Rat Mcs1b is concordant to the genome-wide association-identified breast cancer risk locus at human 5q11.2 and MIER3 is a candidate cancer susceptibility gene. , 2012, Cancer research.

[21]  J. Mank,et al.  W chromosome expression responds to female-specific selection , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[22]  C. Smith,et al.  Sex determination and sexual differentiation in the avian model , 2011, The FEBS journal.

[23]  H. Sang,et al.  Somatic sex identity is cell-autonomous in the chicken , 2010, Nature.

[24]  L. Gillespie,et al.  Changes in subcellular localisation of MI-ER1α, a novel oestrogen receptor-α interacting protein, is associated with breast cancer progression , 2008, British Journal of Cancer.

[25]  A. Sinclair,et al.  ASW: a gene with conserved avian W-linkage and female specific expression in chick embryonic gonad , 2000, Development Genes and Evolution.

[26]  A. Major,et al.  Sex determination and gonadal sex differentiation in the chicken model. , 2018, The International journal of developmental biology.

[27]  A. Kuroiwa.  Sex-Determining Mechanism in Avians. , 2017, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.