RAT-BRAIN CONTAINS MULTIPLE MESSENGER-RNAS FOR CALPASTATIN

This work was undertaken to establish the forms of the calpain inhibit or, calpastatin, expressed in the brain tissue, Five cDNA clones were obtained and the corresponding amino acid sequences were deduced, Thre e of these proteins contain an N-terminal domain (domain L) and four i nhibitory repeats typical of the calpastatin molecule, The other two a re truncated forms, containing the domain L, free or associated with a single inhibitory repeat, Other differences, due to exon skipping, pr oduce calpastatin forms with different susceptibility to posttranslati onal modifications, The more represented mRNA form corresponds to a ca lpastatin molecule containing the four inhibitory domains, These resul ts may be useful to understand the involvement of calpain in the onset of acute and degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. (C ) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.