H. Hirano et al., CD44 ISOFORM EXPRESSION MEDIATED BY ALTERNATIVE SPLICING - TISSUE-SPECIFIC REGULATION IN MICE, International immunology, 6(1), 1994, pp. 49-59
CD44 is a widely distributed cell surface glycoprotein which shows het
erogeneity in molecular expression as a result of post-translational m
odification as well as alternative splicing of CD44 mRNA. Functional s
tudies have indicated that CD44 plays a role as an adhesion molecule a
nd that different CD44-expressing cells differ in their capacities for
CD44-dependent ligand binding. These observations have raised the pos
sibility that structural modifications of CD44, including those result
ing from alternatively spliced mRNA isoforms, are involved in the func
tional heterogeneity of CD44. To assess the expression of CD44 isoform
s in the mouse, we examined CD44 cDNA by reverse transcription polymer
ase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Southern blotting of PCR products with a
CD44 cDNA probe or with internal oligonucleotides revealed the express
ion in mouse tumor cell lines and normal tissues of multiple CD44 mRNA
products which are larger than that observed in the absence of variab
le exon expression. Interestingly, different mouse tissues, including
lymphoid cells, showed unique patterns of alternative CD44 mRNA in Sou
thern blotting analysis. The use of exon-specific primers allowed dete
ction of multiple alternatively spliced mRNA species involving express
ion of at least seven variable exons. Cloning and sequencing of these
PCR products revealed sequence identity with recently identified genom
ic CD44 sequences and confirmed that the PCR products correspond to ma
ture mRNA expressing alternatively spliced CD44 exons. Taken together,
these findings demonstrate that the mouse expresses multiple variably
spliced CD44 isoforms and that expression is regulated in a tissue- a
nd cell-type specific manner.