title: Molecular cloning reveals alternative splice forms of human alpha(E)-catenin.
abstract: At least three proteins (alpha, beta, and gamma catenin) comprise the cytoplasmic domain of the cadherin cell-cell adhesion complex. We have cloned and sequenced human epithelial alpha(E)-catenin and have identified two distinct transcripts, designated alpha 1- and alpha 2-. The human alpha 1(E)-catenin transcript predicts a 907 aa sequence 97% identical to mouse alpha-catenin. The second transcript, alpha 2(E)-catenin, displays a 24 amino acid insertion after codon 812, yielding a 931 amino acid protein (GenBank #L23805). Analysis by RT-PCR and Northern blotting detects one or both transcripts in epithelial and non-epithelial tissues. Southern blotting indicates that both arise from a single gene. The alternative transcription site in alpha-catenin is analogous to the splice site in vinculin that creates met alpha-vinculin, extending the homology between alpha-catenin and vinculin. These data with the reported structure of other catenin genes suggest that vinculin and alpha-catenin generate a superfamily of proteins mediating membrane-cytoskeletal associations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Rimm
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kebriaei
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Morrow
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015820:Cadherins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002460:Cell Line; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000032:analysis; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D015186:Hominidae / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D051178:alpha Catenin
chemical_list: C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; C495272:Ctnna1 protein, mouse; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051178:alpha Catenin