THE CLONING AND DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION OF MURINE DIACYLGLYCEROL KINASE-ZETA

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) regulate the key signaling intermediates diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphatidic acid (PA). We isolated cDNA clo nes of mouse diacylglycerol kinase zeta (mDGK zeta) and found that it shares 88% identity at the nucleic acid level and 95.5% identity at th e amino acid level with human DGK zeta (hDGK zeta), Murine DGK zeta pr otein rose gradually during embryonic development, and was abundant in newborn and adult brains. By RNA whole-mount in situ hybridization, m DGK zeta was shown to be expressed in spinal ganglia and limb buds at low level in E11.5 embryos and at higher level in E12.5 embryos. In E1 3,5 embryos, DGK zeta mRNA was highly expressed in vibrissa follicles, in spinal ganglia, and in the interdigital regions of the developing limbs. Northern blotting showed that DGK zeta expression was limited t o specific anatomical regions of the brain. Thus, the expression of DG K zeta is regulated temporally and spatially during mammalian developm ent and correlates with the development of sensory neurons and regions undergoing apoptosis. (C) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Soc ieties.