Endocrinology Vol. 140, No. 12 5469-5477
Copyright © 1999 by The Endocrine Society
Characterization of the Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 Family Member Myeloid Cell Leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) and the Stimulation of Its Message by Gonadotropins in the Rat Ovary1
Chandra P. Leo2,
Sheau Yu Hsu,
Sang-Young Chun,
Hyun-Wook Bae and
Aaron J. W. Hsueh
Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Gynecology and
Obstetrics, Stanford University Medical Center (C.P.L., S.Y.H.,
A.J.W.H.), Stanford, California 94305-5317; and the Hormone Research
Center, Chonnam National University (S.Y.C., H.W.B.), Kwangju 500757,
Republic of Korea
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Aaron J. W. Hsueh, Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California 94305-5317. E-mail: aaron.hsueh{at}stanford.edu
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Abstract
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The majority of ovarian follicles undergo atresia mediated by
apoptosis. Bcl-2-related proteins act as regulators of apoptosis via
the formation of dimers with proteins inside and outside the Bcl-2
family. Previous studies have identified BAD as a proapoptotic Bcl-2
family member expressed in the ovary. It is known that BAD
phosphorylation induced by survival factors leads to its preferential
binding to 143-3 and suppression of the death-inducing function of
BAD. To identify ovarian binding partners for hypophosphorylated BAD,
we performed a yeast two-hybrid screening of a rat ovary complementary
DNA library using as bait a mutant BAD incapable of binding to 143-3.
Screening of yeast transformants yielded positive clones encoding the
rat ortholog of Mcl-1 (myeloid cell leukemia-1), an antiapoptotic Bcl-2
protein. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that rat and human Mcl-1
showed a complete conservation of the Bcl-2 homology domains BH1, BH2,
and BH3. In the yeast two-hybrid system, Mcl-1 binds to the
hypophosphorylated mutant of BAD and interacts preferentially with
different proapoptotic (Bax, Bak, Bok, Bik, and BOD) compared with
antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bcl-w, Bfl-1, CED-9,
and BHRF-1). Northern blot hybridization demonstrated expression of
Mcl-1 transcripts of 2.3 and 3.7 kb in the ovary and diverse other rat
tissues. In immature rats, PMSG treatment led to a transient increase
in the 2.3-kb Mcl-1 transcript, peaking at 6 h after injection and
returning to baseline levels after 24 h. Moreover, the same
transcript was induced in the PMSG-primed preovulatory rat ovary 6
h after the administration of ovulatory doses of either hCG or FSH.
In situ hybridization studies revealed that the
gonadotropin stimulation of ovarian Mcl-1 message occurs in both
granulosa and thecal cells. In conclusion, rat Mcl-1 was identified as
an ovarian BAD-interacting protein and the message for the
antiapoptotic Mcl-1 protein was induced after treatment with
gonadotropins in granulosa and thecal cells of growing follicles.
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Introduction
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IN THE MAMMALIAN ovary, less than 1% of
all follicles reach ovulation, whereas more than 99% undergo atresia
during reproductive life. Recent studies have established that
apoptosis (programmed cell death) is the molecular mechanism underlying
follicle atresia (1, 2). Moreover, gonadotropins (as well as estrogens,
various growth factors, and cytokines) were found to act as
extracellular survival factors for early antral and preovulatory
follicles by suppressing apoptosis and thereby rescuing follicles from
atresia (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). However, the exact intracellular mechanisms by which
gonadotropins suppress apoptosis remain largely unknown.
One key group of intracellular factors regulating apoptosis is the
Bcl-2 family of proteins (12). The members of this family can be
subdivided into antiapoptotic proteins (such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL) and
proapoptotic proteins (such as Bax and BAD). It has been proposed that
anti- and proapoptotic proteins regulate cell death by binding to each
other and forming heterodimers (13, 14). According to this model, a
delicate balance between anti- and proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members
exists in each cell, and the relative concentrations of these two
groups of proteins determine whether the cell survives or undergoes
apoptosis.
Of the more than 15 known Bcl-2 family members, each tissue or cell
type expresses a specific subset. This laboratory has previously shown
that BAD is a proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member expressed in the rat
ovary (15). The function of BAD is controlled through its
phosphorylation by survival factor-dependent kinases (16, 17). Only the
hypophosphorylated form of BAD can heterodimerize with the
antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Bcl-2, thereby leading to cell death.
By contrast, the hyperphosphorylated BAD preferentially binds to
143-3 proteins, resulting in diminished cell killing (16, 18).
To identify the ovarian binding partners for hypophosphorylated BAD, we
screened an ovarian fusion complementary DNA (cDNA) library using the
yeast two-hybrid system. As bait, we used a modified rat BAD molecule
in which the critical phosphorylation site for 143-3 interaction was
mutated (serine 137 to alanine). This mutation abolishes the
interaction of BAD with 143-3 while allowing its interaction with
Bcl-xL and thus mimics the hypophosphorylated state of BAD (16, 18).
The library screening yielded several positive clones encoding the
full-length rat ortholog of human Mcl-1 (myeloid cell
leukemia-1).3 Mcl-1 was first
discovered as an early induction gene during the differentiation of a
human myeloblastic leukemia cell line (19). Subsequent studies
established Mcl-1 as an antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein with an
expression pattern differing from that of Bcl-2 and capable of
suppressing cell death induced by various stimuli (20, 21, 22, 23). The
expression of Mcl-1 in hemopoietic cells can be induced by various
survival factors, leading to enhanced cell viability (24, 25, 26). Here, we
describe the cloning of the rat Mcl-1 cDNA, dimerization properties of
Mcl-1 with diverse pro- and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members, as well
as the cellular localization of Mcl-1 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in the
rat ovary and their induction by gonadotropins, which are known
follicle survival factors.
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Materials and Methods
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Yeast two-hybrid screening of an ovarian cDNA library
The full-length open reading frame (ORF) of the rat
BADS137A cDNA (18) was fused in-frame with the GAL4-binding
domain into the pGBT9 yeast shuttle vector (CLONTECH Laboratories, Inc., Palo Alto, CA). This vector was used to
identify proteins interacting with the mutant BAD molecule by screening
1.5 x 106 transformants from a GAL4-activation
domain-tagged rat ovarian fusion cDNA library. Positive transformants
were isolated as described previously (18).
Protein interaction assays in the yeast two-hybrid system
Interactions between rat Mcl-1 and diverse other Bcl-2 members
were assessed in the yeast two-hybrid system using a pGADGH/Mcl-1
construct and pGBT9 vectors containing the cDNAs of various pro- and
antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins (27). Specific binding of different
protein pairs was evaluated based on the activation of the GAL1-HIS3
reporter gene in the presence of 30 mM 3-aminotriazole
(18).
Animal treatment
For time-course analyses of mRNA expression, female Sprague
Dawley rats (Simonsen Laboratories, Inc., Gilroy, CA) were injected sc
with 10 IU PMSG (Calbiochem, La Jolla, CA) at 26 days of
age and received an ip injection of 10 IU hCG (Schein Pharmaceuticals,
Florham Park, NJ) 48 h later. Rats were killed at different time
points, and the ovaries were collected for total RNA extraction or were
fixed for in situ hybridization analysis. For analysis of
Mcl-1 message in enriched granulosa cells, total RNA was extracted from
granulosa cells isolated by needle puncture (28). All animal protocols
were approved by the administrative panel on laboratory animal care at
Stanford University.
For quantification of Mcl-1 message in preovulatory follicles after hCG
or FSH administration, 25-day-old female rats received a sc injection
of 10 IU PMSG. In addition, sc injections of the GnRH antagonist
Org30850 (40 µg/kg BW; Organon, Oss, The Netherlands)
were administered on days 25 and 26 to suppress the endogenous
secretion of pituitary gonadotropins (29). On day 27, a single ip
injection of 10 IU hCG or 30 IU recombinant FSH (Org32489E,
Organon) was administered. These doses were chosen because
they were found to reliably induce ovulation in this model system (30).
Rats were killed before or 6 h after gonadotropin administration,
and ovaries were collected for RNA extraction.
RNA extraction and Northern blot analysis
Ovaries were dissected free of adherent tissue, snap-frozen in a
dry ice/ethanol bath, and stored at -70 C. Total RNA was extracted
using the TRIzol reagent (Life Technologies, Inc.,
Gaithersburg, MD) according to the manufacturers instructions. Twenty
micrograms of total RNA per lane were run on agarose-formaldehyde gels
before transfer to nitrocellulose membranes and UV cross-linking. Blots
containing 2 µg/lane polyadenylated [poly(A)+] RNA
extracted from various rat tissues were obtained from CLONTECH Laboratories, Inc. cDNA probes for rat Mcl-1, tissue plasminogen
activator (tPA), ß-actin, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were 32P radiolabeled by random
priming using a commercial kit (Life Technologies, Inc.).
Northern blots were prehybridized and hybridized using ExpressHyb
solution (CLONTECH Laboratories, Inc.) following the
manufacturers instructions. After several washes in 0.1 x
SSC-0.5% SDS at 60 C, membranes were exposed to film (at -70 C) or to
phosphorimager screens.
Quantitation of Mcl-1 mRNA levels
After exposure of membranes to phosphorimager screens, the
signal intensities for the Mcl-1 transcripts (as well as for the GAPDH
transcript from a subsequent hybridization) were quantified for each
RNA sample using the Storm 860 PhosphorImager and ImageQuant image
analysis software (Molecular Dynamics, Inc., Sunnyvale,
CA). Alternatively, films were scanned on a GS-710 Imaging Densitometer
and analyzed using the Quantity One Software package (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA). The values for the 2.3- and
3.7-kb Mcl-1 transcripts in RNA samples extracted from rat ovaries
before and 6 h after injection of hCG or FSH were then normalized
to the respective GAPDH signal. The results are expressed as fold
induction compared with the 0 h control, which was arbitrarily set
at 1.
In situ hybridization studies
Ovaries were fixed at 4 C for 6 h in 4%
paraformaldehyde in PBS, followed by immersion in 0.5 M
sucrose in PBS overnight. Cryostat sections (14 µm thick) were
mounted on microscope slides coated with poly-L-lysine
(Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO), fixed in 4%
paraformaldehyde in PBS, and stored at -80 C until analyzed. To allow
for direct comparison between ovarian sections from different
experimental groups, all slides were processed simultaneously under
identical conditions. The hybridization procedure was essentially the
same as that previously described (31). In brief, sections were
pretreated serially with 0.2 M HCl, 2 x SSC, pronase
(0.125 mg/ml), 4% paraformaldehyde, and acetic anhydride in
triethanolamine. Hybridization was carried out at 5255 C overnight in
a mixture containing 35S-labeled rat Mcl-1 complementary
RNA probe (108 cpm/ml), 50% formamide, 0.3 M
NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl, 5 mM EDTA, 1 x
Denhardts solution, 10% dextran sulfate, 1 µg/ml carrier transfer
RNA, and 10 mM dithiothreitol. Posthybridization washing
was performed under stringent conditions that included ribonuclease A
(25 µg/ml) treatment at 37 C for 30 min and a final stringency of
0.1 x SSC. Slides were dipped into NTB-2 emulsion (Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY) and exposed at 4 C for 34 weeks
before development. The slides were stained with hematoxylin and eosin
and examined under a light microscope with bright- and darkfield
illumination.
Statistical analysis
Results are presented as the mean ± SEM. For
the ovulation induction experiments using hCG or FSH, differences in
normalized levels of Mcl-1 transcript expression among groups were
assessed by ANOVA followed by Fishers protected least significant
differences post-hoc test. Differences in Mcl-1 transcript
expression before and after hCG treatment in granulosa cells were
analyzed using the unpaired t test. Statistical significance
was inferred at P < 0.05.
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Results
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Isolation of rat Mcl-1 in a yeast two-hybrid screening of an
ovarian cDNA library
To identify ovarian binding partners for the proapoptotic protein
BAD, a cDNA encoding the rat BADS137A mutant was used as a
bait to screen 1.5 x 106 yeast transformants from a
rat ovary fusion cDNA library. The serine to alanine substitution in
BAD eliminates the critical phosphorylation site of BAD, thus mimicking
the hypophosphorylated, apoptosis-inducing form of BAD (16, 18). Based
on activation of the GAL1-HIS3 reporter gene, several positive clones
encoding BAD-interacting proteins were identified. In addition to
multiple clones representing P11 (18), three clones were found to
encode a full-length protein with extensive homology to the human Mcl-1
protein (see Fig. 1
).

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Figure 1. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences for
rat, human, and chicken Mcl-1 and a zebrafish EST (AI544581). The PEST
sequence, Bcl-2 homology domains (BH1, BH2, and BH3), and transmembrane
region (TM) are marked. As the chicken and zebrafish sequences contain
only partial ORFs, the amino acid numbers (asterisks)
refer to the respective start of the known coding sequence fragments.
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Sequence analysis of rat Mcl-1
Comparison between the deduced amino acid sequences showed
that rat and human Mcl-1 share 78% identity with a complete
conservation of the Bcl-2 homology domains BH1, BH2, and BH3 as well as
the transmembrane region (Fig. 1
). In addition, rat Mcl-1 retains the
long N-terminal sequence containing a proline-glutamic
acid-serine-threonine-rich (PEST) domain that has been
implicated in targeting the protein for rapid intracellular turnover.
Furthermore, use of the rat Mcl-1 amino acid sequence as a query to
search the GenBank expressed sequence tag (EST) division identified a
zebrafish EST (AI544581) that encodes a protein fragment with closest
homology to the mammalian Mcl-1 proteins. Figure 1
shows an alignment
of the deduced amino acid sequences for rat and human Mcl-1 as well as
for the recently published partial sequence of chicken Mcl-1 (32) and
the zebrafish EST.
Interaction of Mcl-1 with diverse pro- and antiapoptotic Bcl-2
family proteins in the yeast two-hybrid system
The dimerization properties of rat Mcl-1 with different pro- and
antiapoptotic Bcl-2 members were assessed in the yeast two-hybrid
system (Fig. 2
). In agreement with its
identification in the yeast two-hybrid screening, Mcl-1 interacted
strongly with the phosphorylation site mutant of BAD. However, under
the conditions employed, Mcl-1 did not bind to wild-type BAD, which
appears to be constitutively hyperphosphorylated in yeast cells as
suggested by its strong interaction with the
-isoform of 143-3. In
addition, Mcl-1 also interacted with the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family
members Bax, Bak, Bok/Mtd, Bik, and BOD/Bim. By contrast, Mcl-1
dimerized only weakly (Bcl-w, Bfl-1, CED-9, and BHRF-1) or not at all
(Mcl-1, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL) with the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members
tested in this assay.

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Figure 2. Interaction of Mcl-1 with different Bcl-2 family
proteins in the yeast two-hybrid system. The interactions between Mcl-1
and different pro- and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins are rated as
strong (3+), moderate (2+), weak (+), or absent (-), based on the
activation of the GAL1-HIS3 reporter gene. pGADGH and pGBT9 denote the
empty activation domain and binding domain vectors, respectively, which
were included as negative controls. The specific interactions of
wild-type BAD and BADS137A with 143-3 and Mcl-1,
respectively, illustrate the importance of serine phosphorylation at
position 137 in determining the binding partners for BAD (see text).
All Bcl-2 family proteins tested in this assay are of mammalian origin,
except for CED-9, an antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein found in the
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans,
and BHRF-1, a Bcl-2-homolog encoded by the Epstein-Barr virus.
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Northern blot analysis of Mcl-1 expression in different rat tissues
and developmental expression in the ovary
To investigate the tissue expression pattern of Mcl-1, we
hybridized Northern blots containing RNA extracted from various rat
tissues with a radiolabeled rat Mcl-1 cDNA probe. As shown in Fig. 3
, two Mcl-1 transcripts with sizes of
2.3 and 3.7 kb, respectively, were expressed at varying levels in all
rat tissues examined. The highest levels of expression were found in
spleen, lung, heart, and kidney [Fig. 3A
, poly(A)+ RNA
analyzed], whereas lower expression levels were observed in
reproductive tissues, including ovary, oviduct, uterus, and testis
(Fig. 3B
, total RNA analyzed). To further investigate developmental
expression of Mcl-1 in the female gonad, total RNA extracted from
ovaries at different points of postnatal development was hybridized
with the same probe. As shown in Fig. 4A
, the Mcl-1 message is expressed from day 3 after birth and increased
after day 12 of age.

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Figure 3. Expression of the Mcl-1 mRNA in different rat
tissues. Northern blots containing RNA extracted from different
nonreproductive [A; poly(A)+-selected RNA] and
reproductive rat tissues (B; total RNA) were hybridized with a
radiolabeled Mcl-1 cDNA probe. Arrowheads indicate the
two major Mcl-1 transcripts (2.3 and 3.7 kb). Sk. muscle, Skeletal
muscle. The ß-actin message is shown as a control for RNA loading.
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Figure 4. Regulation of Mcl-1 message in the rat ovary
during development and after gonadotropin treatment. A, Developmental
regulation of Mcl-1 message in the prepubertal rat ovary. B, Effect of
PMSG treatment on ovarian Mcl-1 message in the 26-day-old rat. C,
Effect of hCG treatment (48 h after PMSG priming) on ovarian Mcl-1
message. The GAPDH message is shown as a control for RNA loading. The
results shown are representative of two (A and B) or three separate
experiments (C).
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Gonadotropin induction of Mcl-1 message in the ovary
As it had previously been shown that the Mcl-1 message can be
rapidly induced by survival factors in hemopoietic cells (24, 25, 33),
we investigated whether gonadotropins, which are known to act as
follicle survival factors, could increase Mcl-1 expression in the
ovary. Immature rats received an injection of 10 IU PMSG, followed
48 h later by 10 IU hCG to induce ovulation. Using Northern blot
analysis, the expression of Mcl-1 message in rat ovaries collected at
different time points was assessed. As shown in Fig. 4
, B and C, the
two Mcl-1 transcripts were found to be expressed throughout the
treatment time course. After PMSG injection, expression of the 2.3-kb
transcript increased, peaking at 36 h and then returning to baseline
levels by 24 h. Two days after PMSG priming, ovulation induction
with hCG resulted in an 8.5-fold induction (P < 0.05)
of the 2.3-kb transcript (normalized to GAPDH expression; n = 3)
at the 6 h point, whereas expression of this transcript at 12
h was not significantly different from the 0 h expression level
(P > 0.10). There were no statistically significant
differences among the expression levels of the larger 3.7-kb transcript
at 0, 6, and 12 h after hCG administration (P >
0.05).
Both hCG and FSH cause a preovulatory induction of Mcl-1 message in
the rat ovary
As both hCG and FSH can act as follicle survival factors in
preovulatory follicles (7) as well as induce follicle rupture in
PMSG-primed immature rats (30), we further compared the effects of
these two gonadotropins on the induction of Mcl-1 mRNA in the ovary.
Immature rats were primed with PMSG, but additionally received two
injections of the GnRH antagonist Org30850 to suppress endogenous
pituitary gonadotropin secretion. At 48 h after PMSG
administration, the rats were injected with an ovulatory dose of either
hCG or FSH. As the earlier time-course studies had demonstrated a
maximal induction of Mcl-1 message after 6 h, expression at this
time point was compared with levels before the injection of hCG or
FSH.
Northern blots of total RNA isolated from rat ovaries before treatment
or at 6 h after hCG or FSH administration were hybridized with a
radiolabeled Mcl-1 cDNA probe. Subsequently, the same blots were also
hybridized with control probes for tPA and GAPDH (Fig. 5A
). The message for tPA had previously
been shown to be induced by both hCG and FSH (30) and therefore served
as a positive control, whereas the housekeeping gene GAPDH was used as
a control for RNA loading. The expression of each of the two Mcl-1
transcripts was quantified separately and normalized to the GAPDH
signal. As shown in Fig. 5B
, expression of the 2.3-kb Mcl-1 transcript
in the ovaries of GnRH antagonist-pretreated rats was induced 3.3- and
2.4-fold (P < 0.01) by hCG and FSH, respectively,
whereas expression of the 3.7-kb transcript remained essentially
unchanged (P > 0.05).

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Figure 5. Induction of Mcl-1 message in the preovulatory
ovary by hCG or FSH. A, Representative Northern blot of total ovarian
RNA extracted from PMSG-primed ovaries before or at 6 h after the
injection of ovulatory doses of either hCG or FSH. The blot was
successively hybridized with probes for rat Mcl-1, tPA, and GAPDH. B,
Quantification of ovarian Mcl-1 mRNA induction by hCG or FSH. The
phosphorimager signal for each of the two Mcl-1 transcripts was
quantified and normalized to the GAPDH signal. The results are
expressed as the fold induction over the 0 h control, which was
arbitrarily set at 1. Data shown are the mean ± SEM
for five independent samples per group. Asterisks,
Significantly different from the 0 h control group,
P < 0.01.
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Localization of ovarian Mcl-1 message by in situ hybridization and
gonadotropin stimulation of Mcl-1 expression in isolated granulosa
cells
To further examine the expression pattern of Mcl-1 in the
preovulatory ovary, we performed in situ hybridization
analysis. As shown in Fig. 6A
, ovaries
from immature rats contained multiple early antral follicles, preantral
follicles, and some atretic follicles. Mcl-1 mRNA was mainly detected
in the thecal cells of early and preantral follicles (Fig. 6B
).
Although treatment with PMSG for 6 h did not cause obvious changes
in ovarian morphology (Fig. 6C
), a major increase in Mcl-1 message
could be detected in both granulosa and thecal cells (Fig. 6
, D and E).
The specificity of the signal obtained with the antisense Mcl-1 probe
was demonstrated by the lack of hybridization in sections treated with
the sense Mcl-1 probe (Fig. 6F
). After PMSG priming for 48 h, the
rat ovaries contained multiple large antral follicles, and the Mcl-1
message was again mainly expressed in the thecal cells of these
follicles (Fig. 6
, G and H). Six hours after the hCG injection,
hybridization with the Mcl-1 antisense probe demonstrated an increase
in Mcl-1 mRNA in both thecal and granulosa cells of these follicles
(Fig. 6
, I and J).

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Figure 6. In situ localization of Mcl-1 mRNA
in the immature rat ovary before and after PMSG and hCG treatment.
Sections of ovaries collected from 26-day-old rats were hybridized with
a 35S-labeled rat Mcl-1 antisense probe and processed for
liquid emulsion autoradiography. Ovaries from rats before (A and B) and
6 h after (C and D) PMSG injection were analyzed. Brightfield (A
and C) and corresponding darkfield (B and D) photomicrographs are shown
(x50). E, Higher magnification view of D (x125). F, Darkfield view of
an ovarian section hybridized with an Mcl-1 sense probe as a control
(x50). In addition, ovarian sections from rats primed with PMSG for
48 h were analyzed before (G and H) and 6 h after hCG
injection (I and J). Brightfield (G and I) and corresponding darkfield
(H and J) photomicrographs are shown (x50). PAF, Preantral follicle;
EAF, early antral follicle; AtF, atretic follicle; LAF, large antral
follicle; Oo, oocyte; Tc, thecal cells; Gc, granulosa cells.
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As the Mcl-1 signal observed in granulosa cells was weaker than that in
thecal cells, we further substantiated the induction of the Mcl-1
message in granulosa cells, the cell type undergoing apoptosis during
follicle atresia in the rat (1). Therefore, enriched granulosa cells
were isolated from the follicles of PMSG-primed rat ovaries by needle
puncture. Northern blots containing total RNA extracted from granulosa
cells at 0 and 6 h after hCG injection were hybridized with the
Mcl-1 cDNA probe. Although treatment with hCG did not significantly
change the expression of the 3.7-kb transcript (P >
0.10), it caused an almost 3-fold induction (2.8 ± 0.64
vs. 1.0 ± 0.13; P < 0.05) of the
2.3-kb Mcl-1 message in enriched granulosa cells, similar to the
induction seen in the preovulatory ovary as a whole.
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Discussion
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Follicle atresia is a hormonally controlled apoptotic process (1, 2). In particular, interference with gonadotropin secretion or receptor
binding causes atresia of preovulatory follicles in vivo
(34, 35, 36). Conversely, early atretic follicles can be rescued by
administration of exogenous gonadotropins (3). However, the exact
intracellular mechanisms mediating the antiatretic and antiapoptotic
effects of follicle survival factors such as gonadotropins have
remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the rat ortholog of the
antiapoptotic human Mcl-1 molecule is capable of dimerization with
different proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins and that it is expressed
in thecal and granulosa cells of the ovary, where it is induced by the
survival-promoting gonadotropins PMSG, hCG, and FSH.
Among the intracellular regulators of apoptosis, the Bcl-2 family of
proteins occupies a central position by integrating diverse survival
and death signals and linking them to downstream apoptotic events such
as mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase activation
(12). The importance of Bcl-2-mediated pathways to the regulation of
follicle survival and atresia is illustrated by the phenotype of mice
overexpressing Bcl-2 under the control of the inhibin-
promoter/enhancer. The targeted overexpression of this antiapoptotic
gene in somatic ovarian cells leads to diminished follicular cell
apoptosis and increased ovulation rates and litter sizes in transgenic
animals (37). This phenotype is somewhat reminiscent of the effects
seen in wild-type animals hyperstimulated with gonadotropins, raising
the possibility that gonadotropins might induce an antiapoptotic Bcl-2
family protein in follicular cells.
Although the mRNAs for the antiapoptotic molecules Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL
have been found in the ovary, their expression appears to be unaffected
by PMSG treatment in the immature rat model (38). To identify
additional antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members in the ovary, we
performed a yeast two-hybrid screening of a rat ovary cDNA library
using a mutant BAD molecule as bait. The proapoptotic BAD is
constitutively expressed in the rat ovary (15). Although presumably
hyperphosphorylated BAD preferentially binds different isoforms of
143-3, a BAD mutant mimicking the hypophosphorylated form of BAD was
found to interact with P11, a survival gene induced by nerve growth
factor in the PC12 pheochromocytoma cell line (18). Here, we describe
the identification of Mcl-1 as an additional interaction partner for
this phosphorylation site mutant of BAD.
In living eukaryotic cells, Mcl-1 is capable of interacting with the
wild-type forms of several other proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins
(Bax, Bak, Bok/Mtd, Bik, and BOD/Bim), as demonstrated by yeast
two-hybrid assays. Both Bok/Mtd (27, 39) and BOD/Bim (40, 41) were
previously shown to be expressed in the rat ovary. In a recently
performed yeast two-hybrid screening using BOD/Bim as bait, several of
the clones with the strongest interaction were also found to encode
Mcl-1 (data not shown). The dimer formation between pro- and
antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, mediated by their highly conserved
Bcl-2 homology domains, is thought to be a critical determinant of
their mutual functional antagonism (12, 13, 14). In this respect, the
observation that Mcl-1 can interact promiscuously with different
proapoptotic Bcl-2-related proteins in yeast cells complements previous
findings showing that Mcl-1 coimmunoprecipitates with and suppresses
apoptosis induced by diverse proapoptotic Bcl-2 members (22, 27).
In addition to its heterodimerization with proapoptotic Bcl-2 family
members, Mcl-1 could inhibit apoptosis by at least two other
mechanisms. Similar to Bcl-xL and Bcl-2, Mcl-1 could form pores in the
outer mitochondrial membrane to regulate cytochrome c release (42, 43)
and/or inhibit the activation of caspases by retaining the adaptor
molecule Apaf-1 in an inactive conformation (12, 44). Although its
exact mechanism of action remains to be examined, Mcl-1 has been shown
to increase cell viability under different apoptosis-inducing
conditions, including growth factor deprivation and exposure to
chemotherapeutic agents or UV irradiation (21, 22, 23).
The complete conservation of the Bcl-2 homology domains BH1, BH2, and
BH3 (located in the C-terminal portion of the protein) between rat and
human is consistent with their suggested importance in providing the
structural basis for dimerizations between Bcl-2 family proteins (12, 45). The long N-terminal portion of Mcl-1, which bears no homology to
other Bcl-2-related proteins, is also conserved between rat and human,
although to a lesser degree. The functional significance of this domain
is unclear, except for its PEST sequence, which is thought to account
for the short half-life of the protein (see below). The partial amino
acid sequences, deduced from a published chicken nucleotide sequence
(32) and a recently released zebrafish EST, offer further insights into
the conservation of Mcl-1-related sequences in nonmammalian species.
The chicken sequence and zebrafish EST encode protein fragments with
61% and 53% identity to rat Mcl-1, respectively. The zebrafish
sequence described here, therefore, most likely represents the first
Bcl-2 family gene to be found in teleosts.
Several antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family genes (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, A1/Bfl-1, and
Mcl-1) are transcriptionally induced by specific cytokines in
hemopoietic cell types (12). Prosurvival factors inducing Mcl-1 in
hemopoietic cells include granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating
factor, interleukin-1ß, and vascular endothelial growth factor (24, 25, 46). The stimulation of Mcl-1 expression by gonadotropins described
here represents the first evidence of a Bcl-2 family gene being induced
by follicle survival factors in the ovary. The rapid and transient
increase in the ovarian Mcl-1 message after gonadotropin treatment
mirrors the pattern of induction observed in hemopoietic cells (24, 47). This pattern was shown to reflect a transient transcriptional
activation of the Mcl-1 gene, generating a message with a short
half-life of less than 2 h (47). In hemopoietic cells, these
changes in Mcl-1 mRNA levels closely correlate to similar alterations
in the levels of the Mcl-1 protein, which is also rapidly turned over,
probably due to its N-terminal PEST sequence (24, 47, 48). It has been
suggested that the transient induction of Mcl-1 message and protein by
survival factors serves to protect cells during specific stages of
differentiation when they are particularly vulnerable to apoptosis
(23).
Because of its induction by PMSG, FSH, or hCG, the
gonadotropin-dependent expression of Mcl-1 in ovarian cells is probably
mediated by a mechanism in the common downstream signaling pathways of
the LH/hCG and FSH receptors. The murine Mcl-1 promoter contains a DNA
sequence similar to the consensus site recognized by the CRE-2-binding
protein, which is involved in transcriptional induction by cAMP (24, 49). However, a detailed molecular analysis of the Mcl-1 gene promoter
will be necessary to delineate potential cis-responsive
elements mediating the gonadotropin induction of Mcl-1. Interestingly,
the induction of the 2.3-kb Mcl-1 transcript at 6 h after hCG
injection was lower in Org30850-pretreated rats (3.3 ± 0.30-fold)
than in rats not pretreated with the GnRH antagonist (8.5 ±
0.17-fold). This observation could be due to the different age of
animals in these two series of experiments (27 vs. 28 days)
and/or differences in their endogenous gonadotropin levels.
The two Mcl-1 transcripts observed in rat tissues (2.3 and 3.7 kb)
correspond in size to the two known human Mcl-1 messages (2.5 and 3.8
kb) (19). Both Mcl-1 transcripts in the rat are long enough to contain
the full-length coding sequence. Although one cannot exclude the
possibility that the rat mRNAs may encode different ORFs, the two human
Mcl-1 transcripts probably result from the use of alternative
polyadenylation sites in the 3'-untranslated region of the gene (19).
Although the significance of selective induction of the 2.3-kb Mcl-1
transcript by gonadotropins remains unknown, it is interesting to note
that a similar differential induction of two splicing variants by
gonadotropins in granulosa cells has recently been observed for the kit
ligand gene (50).
During follicle atresia in the rodent ovary, apoptotic cell death is
confined to granulosa cells (9, 11). The basal expression and
gonadotropin induction of Mcl-1 in granulosa cells are therefore
consistent with its potential role in regulating follicle atresia.
Whether the levels of Mcl-1 expression in individual follicles
correlate with granulosa cell apoptosis remains to be determined.
Interestingly, levels of Mcl-1 mRNA expression in thecal cells, a cell
type resistant to apoptosis in this model, were higher than those in
granulosa cells. A similar differential ovarian expression pattern has
been observed for the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, Hiap-2 and Xiap,
which are also induced by gonadotropins (51). It is likely that the
high expression of antiapoptotic genes in thecal cells confers a
protection from apoptosis.
From the data presented, we propose the following model. Mcl-1 is an
antiapoptotic Bcl-2 member expressed in ovarian follicles that can
dimerize with BAD and other proapoptotic ovarian Bcl-2 family members
(e.g. Bax, BOD, and Bok). Gonadotropins induce a transient
increase in the expression of Mcl-1 and may thereby shift the balance
of ovarian anti- and proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins to favor
survival and rescue follicles from atresia. The induction of Mcl-1
along with other antiapoptotic genes such as inhibitor of apoptosis
proteins may therefore represent a molecular basis for the suppression
of follicular apoptosis and atresia by gonadotropins.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
We are grateful to Connie Schindler in the laboratory of Amato
Giaccia (Stanford, CA) for help with the phosphorimager analysis, and
to Sameena Beguwala for assistance with the yeast two-hybrid assays. We
thank the following individuals for the provision of cDNAs for
different proteins of the Bcl-2 family: M. Cleary (Stanford, CA;
Bcl-2), S. Cory (Victoria, Australia; Bcl-w), G. Chinnadurai (St.
Louis, MO; Bfl-1/A1 and Bik), A. Rickinson (Birmingham, UK; BHRF1),
R. Horvitz (Cambridge, MA; CED-9), T. Chittenden (Cambridge, MA; Bak),
and C. Thompson (Chicago, IL; Bcl-xL). We also thank Dr. Lenus
Kloosterboar from Organon (Oss, The Netherlands) for
providing the GnRH antagonist Org 30850 and recombinant human FSH.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
1 This work was supported by NIH Grant HD-31566 (to A.J.W.H.) and
Korean Science and Engineering Foundation Grants
9704-0106-013 and HRC-98k10405 (to S.Y.C.). 
2 Supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the German Academic
Exchange Service. Present address: Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany 04207. 
3 The GenBank accession number for rat Mcl-1 is
AF115380. 
Received May 6, 1999.
 |
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