The oocyte-specific transcription factor, Nobox, regulates the expression of Pad6, a peptidylarginine deiminase in the oocyte

Nobox is an oocyte-specific transcriptional regulator. Nobox deficiency disrupts early folliculogenesis and the expression of oocyte-specific genes in mice. In the present study, we found that peptidylarginine deiminase 6 (Pad6) was downregulated in Nobox-null ovaries. Pad6 is preferentially expressed in oocytes and its transcript is detectable at embryonic day 16.5. In addition, we identified one Nobox DNA-binding element (NBE) within the mouse Pad6 promoter. The NBE includes a core sequence TAATTA. Sequence-specific binding of Nobox to the TAATTA motif was confirmed. Nobox overexpression augmented transcriptional activity of a luciferase reporter driven by mouse Pad6. Our findings indicate that Nobox is a critical regulator that orchestrates oocyte-specific genes such as Pad6 during folliculogenesis.