Wenchang  Zhang, Hui  Peng, Yifen  Zhuang, Xu  Wu, Hongxiang  Li, Zhiyong  Hong, Xingfeng  Zhang, Xuejiao  Lin, 
    Expression Analysis of Nlrp4a-Nlrp4f During Mouse Development,
    Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances,
    Volume 12,Issue 6,
    2013,
    Pages 754-759,
    ISSN 1680-5593,
    javaa.2013.754.759,
    (https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2013.754.759)
    Abstract: The <I>Nlrp</I> gene family plays an essential role in the 
  innate immune and reproductive systems in the mouse. Initially, studies on the 
  function of this family were mainly in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling 
  pathways. However, a rapidly growing number of recent researches showed that 
  some <I>Nlrp</I> genes play key roles in reproductive systems. In this study, 
  researchers investigated the expression patterns of Nlrp4a-Nlrp4f during mouse 
  development. The results showed that these genes have the similar expression 
  patterns during preimplantation development. They were enriched in the GV stage 
  and MII oocytes and degraded after fertilization but Nlrp4c and Nlrp4e transcripts 
  were detected again at the morula and blastocyst stages. The tissue distribution 
  of Nlrp4a-Nlrp4f indicated that Nlrp4b and Nlrp4c were only detected in the 
  ovary; Nlrp4a, Nlrp4d and Nlrp4f were also transcribed in the ovary as well 
  as in the testis while Nlrp4e was expressed in various mouse tissues. Furthermore, 
  expression of Nlrp4b-Nlrp4e was downregulated in the ovary with mouse aging. 
  In addition, the expression profiles of Nlrp4a-Nlrp4f in different cells demonstrated 
  that Nlrp4a, Nlrp4b, Nlrp4c, Nlrp4e and Nlrp4f were not detected in other cell 
  lines except for oocytes while Nlrp4d transcripts were detected in oocytes as 
  well as in cumulus cells and spermatozoa. The results indicated that Nlrp4a-Nlrp4f 
  displays specific or preferential oocyte expression patterns, implying important 
  roles of these genes in oogenesis and preimplantation development in the mouse.
    Keywords: Expression analysis;Nlrp4;mouse;spermatozoa;cumulus cell