title: Identification of a cis-acting element required for dendritic targeting of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein mRNA.
abstract: The mRNA encoding activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) is known to be targeted to dendritic regions that have received strong synaptic inputs. However, the cis-acting elements in Arc mRNA that mediate dendritic targeting have not been identified. To identify the dendritic targeting element (DTE) in rat Arc mRNA, we expressed reporter mRNAs containing various regions of Arc in primary hippocampal neurones and analysed their subcellular distribution by in situ hybridization. Here, we report that the 3'-untranslated region of rat Arc mRNA contains a 350-nucleotide DTE with strong dendritic targeting activity and another 370-nucleotide sequence with weaker dendritic targeting activity. The 350-nucleotide DTE does not share any obvious sequence similarity with other known DTEs previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 1-3, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. hirokob@fbs.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Sachiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruo
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Murakami
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000502:physiology*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C092069:activity regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins