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Expression of growth/differentiation factor 1 in the nervous system: Conservation of a bicistronic structure

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States)
 [1]
  1. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD (United States)

Growth/differentiation factor 1 (GDF-1) is a recently described member of the transforming growth factor {beta} superfamily isolated from a day-8.5 mouse embryo cDNA library. Northern (RNA) analysis of embryonic mRNA detected two GDF-1 transcripts (1.4 kilobases (kb) and 3.0 kb in length) displaying distinct temporal patterns of expression. Only the 3.0-kb transcript was detected in adult tissues, where its expression was restricted almost exclusively to the central nervous system. Comparison of murine and human brain cDNA sequences corresponding to the 3.0-kb transcript revealed high conservation of two nonoverlapping open reading frames with poor conservation of the intervening spacer region and the putative 5{prime} and 3{prime} untranslated sequences. By immunohistochemical analysis, the protein encoded by the downstream open reading frame (GDF-1) was detected exclusively in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves in day-14.5 mouse embryos. The upstream open reading frame encodes a protein of unknown function containing multiple putative membrane-spanning domains. These findings raise the possibility that this mRNA may give rise to two different proteins.

OSTI ID:
6097183
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States), Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States) Vol. 88:10; ISSN 0027-8424; ISSN PNASA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English