Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel splice variant of the LIM domain family gene, PINCH 2, in human testis

By hybridizing human adult testis cDNA microarrays with human adult and embryo testis cDNA probes, we identified a novel human testis gene, PINCH 2. PINCH 2 expression was 3.4-fold higher in adult than in fetal testis. The full length of its cDNA was 963 bp, with a 345-bp open reading frame (ORF), encoding a 117-amino acid protein. PINCH 2 was a splicing isoform of PINCH. It shared one exon, which encoded the LIM domain, with PINCH gene in human genome. Multitissue reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) analysis revealed that this gene was expressed variably in a wide range of tissues, with high expression levels in human adult testis. These results suggest that PINCH 2, a novel LIM domain-containing gene, may play an important role in testicular development/spermatogenesis.