Molecular cloning and expression analysis of GFR alpha-3, a novel cDNA related to GDNFR alpha and NTNR alpha.
Glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and neurturin (NTN) are structurally related to TGF-beta and are survival factors for sympathetic, sensory, and central nervous system neurons. GDNF transmits its signal primarily through a receptor complex containing the receptor tyrosine kinase Ret and a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked receptor, GDNFR alpha. NTN utilizes a receptor complex system that consists of Ret and another GPI-linked receptor, NTNR alpha. We have identified a mouse cDNA, termed GFR alpha-3, that encodes a putative GPI-linked receptor. At the protein level, mouse GFR alpha-3 is 35% identical to mouse GDNFR alpha and 36% identical to mouse NTNR alpha. Northern blot analysis showed that GFR alpha-3 is expressed in fetal mouse heart, brain, lung, and kidney and adult heart. These results indicate that the tissue distribution of GFR alpha-3 mRNA is different from that of GDNFR alpha or NTNR alpha mRNA, and suggest that GFR alpha-3 may function in differentiation of embryonic cells expressing its mRNA.
Nomoto
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S
Laboratory for Genes of Motor Systems, RIKEN, Nagoya, Japan.
Ito
S
S
Yang
L X
LX
Kiuchi
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K
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D015870:Gene Expression; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C494994:Gfra3 protein, mouse; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila; C494999:Ret protein, mouse