Cloning and expression of the murine sws/NTE gene

The Drosophila neurodegeneration gene swiss-cheese encodes a neuronal prote in apparently involved in glia-neuron interaction and is homologous to huma n NTE, the molecular target of organophosphate-induced neuropathy. The isol ated Msws/NTE gene is 96% identical to NTE. During development the Msws tra nscript is expressed in the embryonic respiratory system, different epithel ial structures and strongly in the spinal ganglia. Postnatally, Msws mRNA i s expressed in all brain areas, with an increasingly restrictive pattern, I n adult mice expression is most prominent in Purkinje cells. granule cells and pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus and some large neurons in the medu lla oblongata, nucleus dentatus and pens. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.