title: Molecular cloning of the human p120ctn catenin gene (CTNND1): expression of multiple alternatively spliced isoforms.
abstract: Catenins were discovered as proteins that are linked to the cytoplasmic domain of transmembrane cadherins. Among these junctional plaque proteins are several members of the Armadillo gene family: beta-catenin, plakoglobin, and p120ctn. Recently it became clear that some catenins also mediate nuclear signaling. We performed a detailed analysis of the human p120ctn gene (HGMW-approved symbol CTNND1) and its transcripts. The human p120ctn gene comprises 21 exons, potentially encoding up to 32 protein isoforms as products of alternative splicing. Human isoforms, designated 1 to 4, differ from each other by the start codon used. Additional isoforms are derived from combinations with alternatively used exons A (exon 18) and B (20), near the end of the open reading frame, and also with exon C (11) in the middle of the open reading frame. Hence, the longest isoform is of type 1ABC and comprises 968 amino acid residues. The functional consequence of the observed multitude of p120ctn splice variants awaits further study, but tissue-specific expression was obvious. Further, we demonstrate that the exon organization, which is not simply related to the Armadillo repeat structure, is very well conserved between the p120ctn gene and the related ARVCF gene, but not at all between these two genes and the beta-catenin or plakoglobin genes. The present data favor the concept that p120ctn is the prototype of a subfamily of Armadillo proteins, comprising ARVCF, p0071, delta-catenin/NPRAP, and plakophilins 1 and 2, that are more related to each other than to other Armadillo proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)-University of Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keirsebilck
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonné
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Staes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Hengel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nollet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Roy
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018387:Codon, Initiator / Q000235:genetics; D018388:Codon, Terminator / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000095002:Delta Catenin
chemical_list: D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D018388:Codon, Terminator; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000095002:Delta Catenin