Protein kinase Cs (PKCs) are implicated in many forms of synaptic plasticity. However, the specific isoform(s) of PKC that underlie(s) these events are often not known. We have used Aplysia as a model system in order to investigate the isoform specificity of PKC actions due to the presence of fewer isoforms and a large number of documented physiological roles for PKC in synaptic plasticity in t...

The rapid accumulation of clinical RNA-seq data sets has provided the opportunity to associate mRNA isoform variations to clinical outcomes. Here we report a statistical method SURVIV (Survival analysis of mRNA Isoform Variation), designed for identifying mRNA isoform variation associated with patient survival time. A unique feature and major strength of SURVIV is that it models the measurement...

High plasma levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] are considered to be an independent risk factor for premature cardiovascular disease and are inversely associated with apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoform sizes. The contribution of apo(a) polymorphism to the inhibition of fibrinolysis, a mechanism that may favor thrombus development, was therefore evaluated by measuring the ability of Lp(a) particles...

We have developed a statistical method named IsoDOT to assess differential isoform expression (DIE) and differential isoform usage (DIU) using RNA-seq data. Here isoform usage refers to relative isoform expression given the total expression of the corresponding gene. IsoDOT performs two tasks that cannot be accomplished by existing methods: to test DIE/DIU with respect to a continuous covariate...

Two isoforms of brain ankyrin, 440- and 220- kD ankyrinB, are generated from the same gene by alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. The larger isoform shares the same NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal domains to the smaller isoform and contains, in addition, a unique inserted domain of about 220-kD in size (Kunimoto, M., E. Otto, and V. Bennett. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 115:1319-1331). Both Isoforms were e...

BACKGROUND As research into alternative splicing reveals the fundamental importance of this phenomenon in the genome expression of higher organisms, there is an increasing need for a standardized, consistent and unique identifier for alternatively spliced isoforms. Such an identifier would be useful to eliminate ambiguities in references to gene isoforms, and would allow for the reliable compar...

Weight-bearing skeletal muscles change phenotype in response to unloading. Using the hindlimb suspension rat model, we investigated the regulation of myofilament protein isoforms in correlation to contractility. Four weeks of continuous hindlimb unloading produced progressive atrophy and contractility changes in soleus but not extensor digitorum longus muscle. The unloaded soleus muscle also ha...

Transcriptional heterogeneity is extensive in the genome, and most genes express variable transcript isoforms. However, whether variable transcript isoforms of one gene are regulated by common promoter elements remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated whether isoform promoters of one gene have separated DNA signals for transcription and translation initiation. We found that TATA box and n...

The distribution of myosin heavy (MyHC) and myosin light chain (MyLC) isoform pattern in horse, rat and human skeletal muscle was investigated to establish relations between them and the role of myosin isoform patterns in mammalian muscle with different twitch characteristics was studied. These two isoforms were separated in a SDS-PAGE gel system, stained using the coomassie and silver staining...

Two isoforms of brain ankyrin, 440and 220kD ankyrinB, are generated from the same gene by alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. The larger isoform shares the same NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal domains to the smaller isoform and contains, in addition, a unique inserted domain of about 220-kD in size (Kunimoto, M., E. Otto, and V. Bennett . 1991. J. Cell Biol. 115:1319-1331). Both Isoforms were expr...