title: The leptin receptor promoter controls expression of a second distinct protein.
abstract: The leptin receptor (OB-R) is a single membrane- spanning protein that mediates the weight-regulatory effects of leptin (OB protein). Several mRNA splice variants have been described which either encode OB-R proteins with cytoplasmic domains of different length or the OB-R and B219/OBR variants, which have different 5'-untranslated regions. Here we report evidence for the synthesis of a human mRNA splice variant of the OB-R gene that potentially encodes a novel protein, leptin receptor gene-related protein (OB-RGRP), which displays no sequence similarity to the leptin receptor itself. This OB-RGRP transcript contains the first two OB-R gene 5'-untranslated exons, but then is alternatively spliced to two novel exons which were mapped to a yeast artificial chromosome containing the leptin receptor gene. First identified by analysis of a large human expressed sequence tag database, the OB-RGRP transcript has now also been found in human and mouse tissues by the use of PCR. Preliminary experiments suggest that OB-RGRP and the OB-R variants share similar patterns of expression that are distinct from that of the B219/OBR variant. OB-RGRP is highly homologous to putative open reading frames in both yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans , suggesting a phylogenetically conserved role for this novel protein.
authors.affiliation: Institut Cochin de Génétique Moléculaire, Laboratoire d'ImmunoPharmacologie Moléculaire, CNRS UPR 0415, 22 rue Méchain, 75014 Paris, France. bailleul@icgm.cochin.inserm.fr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bailleul
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akerblom
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Strosberg
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D054411:Receptors, Leptin; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C515448:LEPR protein, human; C107590:LEPROT protein, human; C484581:Obrgrp protein, mouse; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D054411:Receptors, Leptin; C515447:leptin receptor, mouse