GENE STRUCTURE OF THE MURINE N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE RECEPTOR SUBUNIT NR2C

The murine N-methyl D-aspartate receptor subunit NR2C (epsilon-3) is e ncoded by a unique gene composed of 12 translated and three 5'-untrans lated exons that spread over similar to 20 kilobases of genomic sequen ce. The GC-rich promoter that lacks TATA- and CAAT-positioning element s has two transcriptional start sites separated by 18 base pairs. One of these sites is located in a conserved initiator motif and, together with the first four exons, specifies the 5'-untranslated sequence of 772 nucleo tides. In this sequence, two alternative splice variants we re detected that show identical expression patterns in adult mouse bra in. Comparison of intron positions in genes encoding different members of the glutamate receptor family confirms a close evolutionary relati onship of the NR2C and NMDAR1 subunit genes.