title: Developmentally regulated expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor genes and splice variants by murine embryonic stem and embryonal carcinoma cells.
abstract: The expression of the four fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGF-R) genes was examined in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells, embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells, and their differentiated derivatives. FGF-R1 and FGF-R4 were found to be expressed constitutively in all samples examined. The expression of FGF-R2 and FGF-R3 was, however found to increase significantly upon differentiation of both ES and EC cells. Examination of splice variants of the third immunoglobulin domain (IgIII) of the extracellular region of the FGF-R2 revealed that whilst IgIIIc transcripts were expressed upon ES cell differentiation, IgIIIb transcripts (which confer specificity for the ligand FGF-7) were expressed in both ES cells and their differentiated progeny. FGF-R3 transcripts were also expressed in ES cells, but variant FGF-R3 transcripts containing the IgIIIb region were expressed upon differentiation. The findings suggest that the repertoire of FGF-R expression in embryonic cell types is developmentally regulated at the level of both gene expression, and alternative splicing and different members of the FGF-R family can exhibit distinct patterns of both gene and splice variant expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, England.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Heath
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor; D012260:Ribonucleases