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Organization and characterization of the keratin cytoskeleton in the previtellogenic ovarian follicle of the lizard Podarcis sicula Raf

The cytokeratin (CK) cytoskeleton, previously described by immunofluorescence in the ovarian follicle of Podarcis sicula, at the electron microscope results constituted by bundles of 10 nm thick intermediate filaments containing keratin. These bundles are better evident in the cytoplasm of the pyriform cell apex pointed toward the oocyte surface and mostly in the intercellular bridges connecting fully differentiated pyriform cells to the oocyte. During the differentiation of pyriform cells, the intermediate filament bundles first appear inside the intercellular bridge, when the small follicle cells progressively enlarge after their fusion with the oocyte and assume a morphology of “intermediate” cells. The present study also reports a comparative analysis by immunolabeling, SDS‐PAGE, and immunoblotting with anticytokeratins CK8, CK18, and CK19 antibodies of both the ovarian follicle and the intestine of Podarcis sicula. These antibodies, specific to the keratins of monolayered intestinal cells, react also against those expressed in the oocytes of Xenopus laevis. This study shows the presence in the ovarian follicle of this reptile only of keratin forms of homologues to the CK8 and CK18 of mammals and the lack of CK19. The same analysis carried out utilizing AE1 and AE3 antibodies, which recognize most of the acidic and basic keratins in mammals, has shown additional forms of keratins specifically expressed in the ovarian follicle (50 kDa) and in both the examined tissues (49 and 60 kDa). The reported results indicate that in the ovarian follicle of this reptile, keratins have peculiar characteristics that can be explained by the unique structural function of the cytoskeleton in this system. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 57:159–166, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.