Structural diversity of neuronal nitric oxide synthase mRNA in the nervous system.
Nitric oxide (NO), generated from L-arginine by an enzymatic reaction of a NO synthase (NOS; EC 1.14.23), is a recently identified biological mediator suggested to be involved in a wide variety of biological processes. In the present work, we isolated and sequenced the entire region of cDNAs encoding mouse neuronal NOS (n-NOS) and demonstrated structural diversity of n-NOS mRNA in the nervous system. Sequence determination revealed a novel mRNA with an inframe deletion in the middle of the n-NOS cDNA. Structural analysis of the corresponding part of the n-NOS gene indicated that the deletion corresponded exactly to two exons. These findings suggest that the variant n-NOS is formed by alternative splicing. Both n-NOSs were found in almost all parts of the nervous system, the expression level of the novel variant being about one twentieth of that of the known n-NOS. Generation of diversity of n-NOS is probably related to diversity of its biological functions.
Ogura
T
T
Biochemistry Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
Yokoyama
T
T
Fujisawa
H
H
Kurashima
Y
Y
Esumi
H
H
D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015723:Gene Library; D014644:Genetic Variation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011061:Poly A / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000201:enzymology*
D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011061:Poly A; D012313:RNA; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases