Developmentally-regulated expression of mNapor encoding an apoptosis-induced ELAV-type RNA binding protein

Proteins with RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) participate in many aspects of RNA metabolism, and some of them are required for the accomplishment of nor mal development. The neuroblastoma apoptosis-related RNA binding protein (N APOR) is an ELAV-type RNA-binding protein with three characteristic RNP2/RN P1-type RRMs, which we identified as a gene induced during apoptosis of neu roblastoma cells. Here we isolated and characterized the cDNA for mNapor, t he mouse homolog of NAPOR. The mNapor encodes mRNA sharing striking homolog y with that of NAPOR, not only in its open reading frame (98.5%) but also i n the 3'-untranslated region (80.1%), and is mapped to chromosome 2 A2-A3, a region syntenic to the human NAPOR locus. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that the expression pattern of mNapor is spatially and temporally coincident with the occurrence of programmed cell death, suggesting its inv olvement in the development of the central nervous system in which apoptosi s plays a crucial role. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.