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Expression of Glia Maturation Factor β mRNA and Protein in Rat Organs and Cells
Author(s) -
Zaheer Asgar,
Fink Brian D.,
Lim Ramon
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1993.tb03237.x
Subject(s) - messenger rna , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , complementary dna , northern blot , gene expression , western blot , gene , genetics
Rat glia maturation factor β (GMF‐β) cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription of rat brain mRNA followed by polymerase chain reaction amplification, using primers from the human sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence of rat GMF‐β differed from the human counterpart in only three places: His 27 in place of Asn, Val 51 in place of Ile, and Leu 93 in place of Val. The high degree of evolutionary conservation suggests that GMF‐β plays an essential role in animal cell physiology. The expression of GMF‐β mRNA in the rat was studied by the northern blot technique, using a rat cRNA probe corresponding to the entire coding region. GMF‐β mRNA was predominantly expressed in the brain and spinal cord, although trace levels were found in other organs, including testis and ovary. In the brain GMF‐β mRNA was detectable at as early as embryonic day 10, and persisted through as late as postnatal month 14, with minor variations in between. On the other hand, GMF‐β protein exhibited more obvious developmental changes, with its level increasing slowly prenatally and plateauing at 1 week after birth. GMF‐β mRNA and protein were also observed in several cultured cells. Some cells of neural origin contained higher levels of GMF‐β protein compared with cells derived from other sources. Through demonstration of mRNA and confirmation by immunoblotting, we conclude that GMF‐β is synthesized by rat organs and that GMF‐β is predominantly a brain protein.