Rodent genomic alignment sequences support a 2-exon model for muscarinic M4 receptor. Using this model a novel N-terminal extension was discovered in the human muscarinic acetylcholine M4 receptor. An open reading frame was discovered in the human, mouse and rat with a common ATG (methionine start codon) that extended the N-terminus of the muscarinic acetylcholine M4 receptor subtype by 155 ami...

The neuron-restrictive silencer factor [NRSF (RE-1 silencing transcription factor/X box repressor)] is a transcriptional silencer, which we have previously implicated in deregulation of the vasopressin promoter in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Here we describe a novel splice variant of the NRSF transcript, which is highly expressed in SCLCs. The variant was detected in both established cell li...

Dear Editor, Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) is a master transcription factor that regulates the expression of hypoxia-inducible genes involved in erythropoiesis, vascular remodeling and glucose metabolism in response to hypoxia. Dysregulation of HIF1α has been heavily implicated in tumor progression. In this study, using exome sequencing, we identified a synonymous somatic variant of HIF1α (...

In the past five years, multiple structurally and functionally distinct androgen receptor (AR) splice variants have been decoded and characterized. The mature transcripts for the majority of the fully decoded AR splice variants contain a transcribed "intronic" sequence, capable of encoding a short variant-specific peptide to replace the AR ligand-binding domain (LBD). Functionally, AR splice va...

Many disease-causing mutations affecting donor splice site recognition are reported in the literature. One of the more frequently observed nucleotide changes causing aberrant splicing are due to mutations in the donor splice site which lower the strength of base pairing with U1 snRNA (small nuclear RNA). However, recent data have highlighted the possibility of a recognition mechanism for weak d...

The µ opioid receptor gene, OPRM1, undergoes extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing in rodents and humans, with dozens of alternatively spliced variants of the OPRM1 gene. The present studies establish a SYBR green quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to more accurately quantify mouse OPRM1 splice variant mRNAs. Using these qPCR assays, we examined the expression of OPRM1 splice variant mRNAs in sele...

Genetic variants that cause haploinsufficiency account for many autosomal dominant (AD) disorders. Gene-based diagnosis classifies variants that alter canonical splice signals as pathogenic, but due to imperfect understanding of RNA splice signals other variants that may create or eliminate splice sites are often clinically classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS). To improve recogn...

Signals from the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) of the developing vertebrate limb, including fibroblast growth factor-8 (FGF-8), can maintain limb mesenchymal cells in a proliferative state. We report here that a specific CD44 splice variant is crucial for the proliferation of these mesenchymal cells. Epitopes carried by this variant colocalize temporally and spatially with FGF-8 in the AER thro...

The Kv11.1 (also ERG1) K(+) channel underlies cardiac I(Kr), a current that contributes to repolarization in mammalian heart. In mice, I(Kr) current density decreases with development and studies suggest that changes in the structure and/or properties of the heteromultimeric I(Kr)/Kv11.1 channel are responsible. Here, using immunohistochemistry, we report that total Kv11.1 alpha subunit protein...

analysis showed that this was a splice variant of the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) gene, although its 3 exons were different from the liver or systemic type of IGF-I. However, it was noted that muscle also expresses the systemic type of IGF-I (IGF-IEa). The terminology for the IGF-I variants is a problem when attempting to apply it to nonhepatic tissues and to different species. Also, w...