[Alternative splicing of de novo methyltransferase gene 3b in adult and newborn mice].
OBJECTIVE
To unravel the biological significance of the alternative splicing of de novo methyltransferase 3b, expression of the Dnmt3b gene in various tissues and developmental stages was investigated in postnatal mice.


METHODS
RT-PCR and capillary electrophoresis were employed to analyze the alternative splicing pattern of Dnmt3b in tissues of newborn and adult mice. The results had been further reaffirmed by repeating and statistics analysis. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the structure and hydrophobicity of the Dnmt3b exon10 coding sequence.


RESULTS
Isoform with Dnmt3b exon10 was the abundant form in lung of newborn mice and in liver of both newborn and adult mice, while in other tissues of newborn and adult mice, the spliced isoform was presented as the predominant one. Peptide encoded by Dnmt3b exon10 was mainly random coil on the surface of Dnmt3b protein.


CONCLUSIONS
The data demonstrate that the specific expression of Dnmt3b exists in tissues and developmental stages of postnatal mice. The alternative splicing of the exon 10 of Dnmt3b is possibly involved in the regulation of Dnmt3b's catalytic function. These results provide an insight into the developmental regulation and physiological function of the alternative splicing of the Dnmt3b gene.
Lin
L
L
National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, CAMS, PUMC, Beijing 100005, China.
Xu
Q
Q
Zhang
Y
Y
Yin
B
B
Fan
Y
Y
Luo
Y
Y
Han
S
S
Zhang
Z
Z
Wu
G
G
Shen
Y
Y
D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000097584:DNA Methyltransferase 3B
D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases; D000097584:DNA Methyltransferase 3B