title: Odd-skipped related 2 splicing variants show opposite transcriptional activity.
abstract: Odd-skipped related 2 (Osr2) is expressed in the domain of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during tooth and kidney development. In this study, we report that alternative splicing of exon 4 resulted in two transcripts, Osr2A and Osr2B. These variants utilized a different splice acceptor, and Osr2B exhibited a frameshift followed by an early stop codon. Osr2A mRNA produced a protein that was 36 amino acids longer than Osr2B at the C-terminus and had five zinc-finger domains, whereas Osr2B had three zinc-finger motives. The 2 Osr2 variants were found in kidney, skeletal muscle, and testis, and Osr2B was predominantly transcribed in each. Flag-tagged variants showed the same localization in cell nuclei, however, Gal4 fusion proteins showed opposite transcriptional activities. Further, Flag-tagged variants also showed opposite transcriptional activities, though they were in contrast to the findings for the Gal4-fused variants. Our results indicate that Osr2 bifurcates its function by alternative splicing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Frontier Biology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita-Osaka 565-0871, Japan. skawai@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okahashi
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D019154:Protein Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C438618:Osr2 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors