title: Expression of a cDNA encoding the glycolipid-anchored form of rat acetylcholinesterase.
abstract: We amplified by PCR and characterized a fragment of cDNA from rat spleen, encoding the distinctive C-terminal region of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) H subunit. A recombinant vector encoding this subunit was constructed and expressed in COS cells: the H subunits produced glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored dimers, showing that the spleen cDNA fragment contained a functional GPI cleavage/attachment site. Using PCR, we did not detect mRNAs encoding AChE H in rat muscle or hypothalamus. In the liver of 16-day rat embryos, we found both H and T transcripts, in agreement with the presence of both GPI-anchored dimers and amphiphilic monomers of type II. In addition, we detected 'read-through' (R) transcripts, in which regular introns are spliced, but the intervening sequence between the common exon 4 and the alternative exon 5 (H) is maintained.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Neurobiologie, CNRS UA 295, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Legay
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Massoulié
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase