Alternative exon 3 splicing of the human major protein zero gene in white blood cells and peripheral nerve tissue

The major protein zero (MPZ) is involved in peripheral myelin folding, Usin g nested reverse transcription-PCR, we amplified several fragments of MPZ m RNAs in white blood cells and in peripheral nerve tissue. Cloning of PCR pr oducts revealed the existence of three alternative splicing patterns: one r esulted in the complete loss of exon 3 and two others induced partial skipp ing of the exon 3 sequence. All three alternative splicing mechanisms produ ced a frame-shift and created an identical premature stop codon in exon 4, We conclude that the existence of these MPZ RNA transcript variants may be the result of deliberate splicing decisions and may have functional implica tions in the cell. (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.