Isolation and expression analysis of the human RNH2 gene encoding ribonuclease inhibitor 2.

Ribonuclease inhibitor 1 (RI-1) is a cytoplasmic protein that inhibits a variety of pancreatic-type mammalian Rnases by forming a very tight, reversible 1:1 complex. Recently a novel gene encoding ribonuclease inhibitor 2, Rnh2 has been isolated in mouse. The expression pattern of the mouse Rnh2 is specific to testis, especially in the spermatogonia. Then it has been suggested that the mouse Rnh2 gene may play critical roles in mouse spermatogenesis. In this study, we isolated the human RNH2 cDNA and analyzed its expression pattern. The human RNH2 is also expressed limited to testis, and then it is suggested that the human Rnh2 gene may also play critical roles in human spermatogenesis.