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Calcium Channel Subunits in the Mouse Cochlea
Author(s) -
Green Glenn E.,
Khan Khalid M.,
Beisel Kirk W.,
Drescher Marian J.,
Hatfield James S.,
Drescher Dennis G.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1996.67010037.x
Subject(s) - cochlea , complementary dna , gene isoform , biology , protein subunit , calcium channel , microbiology and biotechnology , voltage dependent calcium channel , alternative splicing , gene , messenger rna , reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction , calcium , genetics , chemistry , anatomy , organic chemistry
Messages for subunits of voltage‐gated calcium channels were examined in the cochlea of the CBA J mouse by PCR analysis. Total RNA was extracted from the auditory organs of 16–18‐day‐old animals. After reverse transcription, resulting cDNA was amplified by PCR with primers targeted to nucleotide sequences corresponding to 12 different calcium channel subunits. PCR products representing subunit gene expression were strongly and consistently amplified for α 1C , α 1D , α 1E , α 2 δ, β 1 , β 3 , and β 4 but not for α 1A , α 1B , α 1S , β 2 , or γ. The chosen primers amplified cochlear cDNA to yield an overall pattern of bands different from that of any tissue studied thus far, in particular with respect to the α 2 δ and β 1 subunits; the α 2 δ product was found to be significantly shorter than the corresponding brain and skeletal muscle isoforms. Nucleotide sequencing confirmed the identity of mouse cochlear subunit cDNAs. The results suggest that L‐type and presumptive R‐type calcium channels are expressed in the mammalian cochlea and that the α 2 δ subunits may be coded by a characteristic splice‐variant mRNA.