Mapping to mouse chromosome 3 of the gene encoding latexin (Lxn) expressed in neocortical neurons in a region-specific manner
- Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Tokyo (Japan)
Latexin was first found as a 29-kDa antigen expressed in a subset of neurons in infragranular layers of lateral, but not dorsal, neocortical areas in the rat using a monoclonal antibody PC3.1. It was found that the vast majority of latexin-expressing neurons in both layers V and VI within the lateral neocortex were generated concurrently at Embryonic Day 15, demonstrating a strict correlation between the molecular identity of neurons and the time of their generation. Since neurons expressing latexin are located in the restricted part of the neocortex, latexin has been used as a useful molecular marker to elucidate the mechanism underlying cortical regional specification. The latexin cDNA isolated from a cDNA library of the rat cerebral cortex encodes a protein composed of 223-amino-acid residues containing two potential Ca{sup 2+}/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase sites and one cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site. The absence of any signal peptide or potential transmembrane domain is consistent with the apparent cytosolic localization of latexin in the rat brain. The transcripts of latexin were expressed in not only neutral but also nonneural tissues (e.g., lung, spleen, kidney, heart, and digestive tracts). Recently, it has been demonstrated that latexin purified from the rat brain has inhibitory activity against carboxypeptidase A1, carboxypeptidase A2, and mast cell carboxypeptidase A, with less carboxypeptidase B-inhibiting activity. The amino acid sequence deduced from the rat latexin cDNA has no strict homology to any sequences so far known. Genomic Southern blot analysis using a cDNA probe of rat latexin suggested that the gene encoding latexin in the rat has homologues in other mammalian species and in the chicken, but not in the nematode, fly, or frog. 9 refs., 1 fig.
- OSTI ID:
- 476900
- Journal Information:
- Genomics, Vol. 39, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: 1 Feb 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
cDNA cloning, molecular characterization, and chromosomal localization of NET(EPHT2), a human EPH-related receptor protein-tyrosine kinase gene preferentially expressed in brain
Specific reduction of calcium-binding protein (28-kilodalton calbindin-D) gene expression in aging and neurodegenerative diseases