title: Alternative splicing of the mouse amelogenin primary RNA transcript contributes to amelogenin heterogeneity.
abstract: A heterogeneous population of amelogenin proteins is derived from a single copy of the mouse amelogenin gene. To investigate the one gene--multiple protein enigma, we designed a study to distinguish between alternative splicing and proteolytic cleavage models. A pulse of [35S]methionine labeling demonstrated that multiple amelogenins are synthesized concurrently, a result consistent with an alternative splicing mechanism. Using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction we cloned a segment from the 5' end of a mouse amelogenin mRNA and connected it to a previously isolated abbreviated cDNA clone. Four additional cDNAs derived from alternatively spliced amelogenin mRNAs have been cloned and characterized. The five transcripts encode amelogenins 180, 156, 141, 74, and 59 amino acids in length.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Los Angeles 90033.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Simmer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bringas
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeichner-David
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thiemann
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Snead
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Slavkin
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fincham
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D053523:Amelogenin; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D014083:Tooth Germ / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D053523:Amelogenin; C507200:Amelx protein, mouse; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins; D012322:RNA Precursors