Making sense of the multiple MAP-2 transcripts and their role in the neuron.
Microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) is a family of heat-stable, phosphoproteins expressed predominantly in the cell body and dendrites of neurons. Three major MAP-2 isoforms, (MAP-2a, MAP-2b, MAP-2c) are differentially expressed during the development of the nervous system and have an important role in microtubule dynamics. Several MAP-2 cDNA clones that correspond to the major MAP-2 transcripts and additional, novel MAP-2 transcripts expressed in the CNS and PNS have been characterized. The transcripts result from the alternative splicing of a single MAP-2 gene consisting of 20 exons. Studies are now being directed toward understanding the role of the multiple MAP-2 forms that contain novel exons in the nervous system. The expression, localization, and possible functions of the newly identified spliced forms are the focus of this review.
Shafit-Zagardo
B
B
Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Kalcheva
N
N
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger