title: cDNA sequence and genomic structure of the rat RET proto-oncogene.
abstract: The RET proto-oncogene, a member of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase family, plays a crucial role during the development of the excretory system and the enteric nervous system, as demonstrated by in vivo animal studies and by its involvement in the pathogenesis of several human neurocristopathies like Hirschsprung disease and Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2. Using a multistep RT-PCR approach we have isolated and sequenced the cDNA of the whole rat RET proto-oncogene, reporting the deduced amino acid sequence in comparison with the human and mouse counterparts. Moreover, two different isoforms (RET9 and RET51) have been confirmed in the rat, while a third RET isoform demonstrated in human (RET43) has not resulted to be conserved in this species. Finally, we have determined the genomic structure of the rat RET proto-oncogene comparing the exon-intron boundaries and intron sizes with the known structure of the human homologous gene. Our findings will facilitate the molecular study of appropriate rat models of RET related human diseases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Genetica Molecolare, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16148 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matera
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Miguel-Rodríguez
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fernández-Santos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puliti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravazzolo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Galera-Davidson
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ceccherini
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018244:Chromosomes, Artificial, Yeast; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005091:Exons; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D051381:Rats; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila; C494999:Ret protein, mouse; C495001:Ret protein, rat