Isolation and characterization of a full length cDNA for dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) gene
- Niigata Univ. (Japan); and others
Hereditary dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is an autosomal dominant spinocerebellar degeneration characterized by anticipation and variable combination of symptoms including myoclonus, epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia, choleoathetosis, and dementia. Recently, we discovered that DRPLA is caused by unstable expansion of a CAG repeat of a B37 gene on chromosome 12. To characterize functions of the DRPLA gene product, we isolated several cDNA clones for the DRPLA gene from human adult and fetus brain cDNA libraries, using an oligonucleotide flanking the CAG repeat. The cDNA spans 4247 bp in length and there is only an open reading frame coding for 986 amino acids. The CAG repeat, which is expanded in DRPLA, is located 291 bp downstream from the initiation methionine and encodes a polyglutamine tract. The deduced amino acid sequence from amino acids residues 582 to 707 has a high homology to published human hippocampus derived expressed sequence (M78755) located at chromosome 1p (63.8% identity), and 3{prime}-untranslated region of the DRPLA cDNA revealed homology to the mouse small nuclear RNA U7 gene (X54165). Northern blot analysis revealed a 4.7 knt transcript which is widely expressed in various tissues including heart, lung, kidney, placenta, skeletal muscle, and brain. In human adult brain, the transcript was broadly expressed including amygdala, caudate nucleus, corpus callosum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus and thalamus, and was not specific to the dentatorubral-pallidoluysian system. The availability of a full length cDNA will be highly useful for analyzing the pathogenesis of this unique neurodegenerative disease as well as for analyzing other CAG repeat related neurodegenerative diseases.
- OSTI ID:
- 133313
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-0040
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Assignment of a gene for hereditary dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) to 12p13.1-p12.3
Trinucleotide repeat expansion and DRPLA (Smith`s disease): Molecular characterization of atrophin-1