Androgen-dependent protein from mouse vas deferens. cDNA cloning and protein homology with the aldo-keto reductase superfamily.

We report the cloning and sequencing of a 1225-base pair cDNA encoding an abundant protein from mouse vas deferens. An open reading frame of 948 nucleotides encodes a protein of 316 amino acids with a calculated mass of 35,965 Da. A high degree of homology was found between this protein and members of the aldo-keto reductase superfamily, especially aldose reductase from human placenta (82%) and from rat lens (80%), suggesting that it could be an aldose reductase. Castration resulted in a marked decrease in the level of the 1.4 kilobase mRNA coding for the 35,965 protein, whereas administration of testosterone to castrated males resulted in a marked increase. Southern hybridization analysis of mouse genomic DNA revealed relatively simple patterns of bands.