1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Molecular cloning and characterization of novel developmentally-regulated genes

Research Project

Project/Area Number	06680778
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology
Research Institution	Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
Principal Investigator	SAITO Yumiko Tokyo Metropol Inst Med Sci., Dept Mol Biol., Resercher, 遺伝子情報研究部門, 研究員 (00215568)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	MARUYAMA Kei National Inst Physiol Sci., Lab Neurochem., Associate Professor, 生理研・神経化学, 助教授 (30211577)
Project Period (FY)	1994 – 1995
Keywords	Neural differentiation / Gene / Splicing / Subtraction / Brain / Neuropeptide
Research Abstract	We used a subtraction cloning approach to isolate cDNAs of N23K and N27K, whose mRNA and protein are transiently up-regulated in mouse NS20Y cells undergoing neurite outgrowth induced by treatment of dibutyryl cyclic AMP.N23K and N27K encode precursor proteins for a newly discovered rat neuropeptide nociceptin. As with other neuropeptide precursors, the N23K/N27K proteins contain a putative signal peptide rich in hydrophobic amino acids at the N-terminus. N23K/N27K mRNA are present only in brain and spinal cord in adult mouse, and are expressed at higher levels in early postnatal brain. These findings suggest that the N23K/N27K protein function not only as neuropeptide precursors but also as important components in neuronal differentiation.

(2 results)