A new alternative splice variant of the mouse Fas antigen with a deletion in the N-terminal portion of the extracellular domain.
The Fas antigen (Fas/APO-1/CD95) has been shown to induce apoptosis when bound to a monoclonal anti-Fas antibody or Fas ligands. Recently, a new soluble human Fas isoform which lacks the transmembrane domain due to alternative splicing has been isolated; however, no mouse Fas isoforms have been reported so far. Analysis of Fas transcripts by RT-PCR detected no Fas transcripts corresponding to the human soluble Fas isoform in mouse thymus, spleen and liver. However, we detected a new isoform with a 117-bp deletion in the second exon in various mouse tissues and cell lines. This isoform, termed truncated Fas (T-Fas), can be generated by alternative splicing and lacks the N-terminal portion of the extracellular domain just after the signal sequence. Since the deletion involves the first cysteine-rich motif believed to be necessary for binding to the Fas ligand, the T-Fas protein may lack the ability to induce apoptosis. The expression of T-Fas relative to that of the normal Fas varies considerably among mouse tissues and cell lines, suggesting preferential transcription of the T-Fas isoform in certain cell types.
Nakajima
T
T
Department of Genetics, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan.
Ichii
S
S
Furuyama
J
J
Tamaoki
T
T
Hashimoto
T
T
D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005091:Exons; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry
D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019014:fas Receptor