PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF GAP-43 MESSENGER-RNA EXPRESSED IN THE SPINAL-CORD OF ALS PATIENTS

RECENT evidence suggests that the growth associated protein GAP-43 is involved in the pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In o rder to assess the primary structure of the GAP-43 mRNA expressed in t he spinal cord of ALS patients, the total coding region of the GAP-43 mRNA was amplified from postmortem human spinal cord specimens using t he reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. GA P-43 amplification products were clearly detected in all of the ALS ca ses but not in the normal controls. The GAP-43 mRNA and the deduced am ino acid sequences from all ALS cases coincided completely with the se quence of human fetal GAP-43. These results suggest that the abnormal expression of GAP-43 mRNA underlying the pathogenesis of ALS is due to a quantitative increase, and that there are no qualitative abnormalit ies associated with a change in the amino acid sequences. (C) 1998 Rap id Science Ltd.