Mouse peripherin isoforms

Three distinct mRNAs have been shown to be produced by alternative splicing from the unique mouse peripherin gene. They generate three translation products, one major form, Pe—58, and two minor forms, Pe—56 which possess a shorter C‐terminal sequence, and Pe—61 in which an additional sequence has been inserted in the central rod domain (Landon et al., 1989, EMBO J. 8, 1719–1726). In this study, the simultaneous occurrence of multiple transcripts in murine nervous tissues and neuroblastoma cell lines was shown by PCR amplification of fragments overlapping the sites of alternative splicing. Recombinant peripherin isoforms were purified from E. coli expressing full‐length cDNAs. Rabbit antisera were raised against synthetic peptides mimicking parts of the two C‐terminal sequences and of the inserted sequence of Pe—61 and were immunoadsorbed until they became monoreactive. By western blot analysis, the peripherin isoforms were localised in neuroblastoma NB2a cell lysates and detergent insoluble fractions separated by two‐dimensional electrophoresis. In addition, each isoform was resolved into several charge variants. At the cellular level, each antibody decorated the filament array of the NB2a cells, suggesting the participation of the minor peripherin isoforms in the intermediate filament network.