Identification and differential regional expression of KOR-3/ORL-1 gene splice variants in mouse brain.
KOR-3, also known as ORL-1, is a member of the opioid receptor family, encoding the murine receptor for orphanin FQ/nociceptin. In the current studies we have identified five different splice variants of KOR-3 in mouse brain, three of which have not been previously reported. In addition to variants with a 15 bp deletion at the 3'-end of the first coding exon (KOR-3d) and an 81 bp insertion between the second and third coding exons (KOR-3e), three new variants with insertions of 34 (KOR-3a), 98 (KOR-3b), and 139 bp (KOR-3c) between the first and second coding exons have been obtained. The expression of the three variants in mouse brain varies markedly among brain regions with a distribution which is quite distinct from KOR-3 itself. Of greatest interest was the presence of high levels of KOR-3a in the striatum, a region with no demonstrable KOR-3, and in the cortex. KOR-3c was seen in the periaqueductal gray and hypothalamus, regions where KOR-3 predominated. The brainstem had similar levels of KOR-3, KOR-3a, and KOR-3d. In contrast, KOR-3d was most prominent in the cerebellum. KOR-3b levels were very low throughout.
Cotzias Laboratory of Neuro-Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York 10021, USA.
Y X
YX
Pan
J
J
Xu
B L
BL
Wan
A
A
Zuckerman
G W
GW
Pasternak
D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D000094942:Nociceptin Receptor
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa; D000094942:Nociceptin Receptor; C000722287:Oprl1 protein, mouse