A SPLICE VARIANT OF DP71 LACKING THE SYNTROPHIN BINDING-SITE IS EXPRESSED IN EARLY STAGES OF HUMAN NEURAL DEVELOPMENT

Dp71, a 71 kDa C-terminal isoform of dystrophin, is the major product of the DMD gene in brain. Two alternatively spliced transcripts of Dp7 1 were amplified by RT-PCR from different areas of human fetal neural tissue. Both transcripts were spliced out of exons 71 and 78. The shor ter transcript was also alternatively spliced of exons 72-74, a region comprising the coding sequence for the binding site to syntrophin, on e component of the dystrophin-associated protein complex. Results indi cate that alternatively spliced forms of Dp71 are regulated during hum an neural development. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.