title: Cloning and regulation of messenger RNA for mouse apolipoprotein E.
abstract: A cDNA clone for mouse apolipoprotein E has been identified from a mouse liver cDNA library by a combination of differential colony hybridization and hybrid selection-translation. The identity of the clone was unambiguously established by partial sequencing and comparison with human apolipoprotein E nucleotide and amino acid sequences. In conjunction with an in vitro translation assay for apolipoprotein E, the clone has been used to examine the relative levels of apolipoprotein E mRNA in various tissues of the mouse and the regulation of apolipoprotein E synthesis in response to a diet rich in saturated fat and cholesterol. In the tissues examined, the clone was found to hybridize to a polyadenylated RNA species of approximately 1400 nucleotides. Of the tissues involved in lipoprotein synthesis, liver is very rich (about 1% of total) in apolipoprotein E mRNA while intestine contains only trace amounts. Appreciable levels of active apolipoprotein E mRNA (up to 10% of that in liver) are also detected in peripheral tissues not associated with lipoprotein synthesis, including lung, kidney, spleen, and heart. Thus, extrahepatic apolipoprotein E synthesis may contribute significantly to the levels present in plasma, and a possible function in "reverse cholesterol transport" is considered. When mice were placed on a high lipid diet there was no discernible change in the level of apolipoprotein E mRNA in liver or intestine, although the level of the circulating protein increased about 3-fold. We conclude that in mice the effect of diet on apolipoprotein E levels in blood does not result from induction of mRNA in these tissues.
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010957:Plasmids; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001053:Apolipoproteins; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA