A. Sehgal et al., CLONING, SEQUENCE, AND DEVELOPMENTAL EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF C4-2, A POTENTIAL BRAIN TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENE, Journal of surgical oncology, 65(4), 1997, pp. 249-257
Background: Previously, we reported the isolation of C4-2 as a potenti
al tumor suppressor gene in human brain tumors, To understand the func
tion of this gene, we investigated its molecular characterization and
expression during development. Methods: Human fetal brain library scre
ening and 5'RACE-PCR method was used to isolate the full-length cDNA.
The coding region of C4-2 was used for in situ hybridization to study
its expression during development. Results: We report here the complet
e sequence of this gene. Sequence analysis indicated that C4-2 has a 9
4% sequence identity to a family of cAMP-regulated phosphoproteins (AR
PP-16/19) in the coding region. C4-2 has a 3.1 Kb long 3'UTR with vari
able identity to ARPP-16 and ARPP-19. Northern blot analysis indicated
that C4-2 is expressed at high levels in normal brain compared to oth
er tissues. Zoo blot analysis demonstrated that the coding region of C
4-2 is highly conserved among different animals. In situ hybridization
using C4-2 coding region demonstrated that it follows a unique expres
sion pattern during mouse brain development. High level of C4-2 expres
sion was also observed in the spinal cord and somites of the developin
g embryo. Conclusion: Expression analysis during brain development str
ongly suggests that this family of proteins may play an important role
not only in normal functioning of the brain, but also during brain de
velopment. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.