Choo Jung Ha, Kim Jeong Do, Kim Joomyeong
Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
Gene. 2008 Feb 15;409(1-2):28-33. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2007.10.036. Epub 2007 Nov 21.
APeg3 is an antisense transcript gene of Peg3, which has been recently identified from rat brain. Careful analyses of EST databases indicated that a homologous transcript also exists in other mammalian species, including mouse, cow and human. 5'-and 3'-RACE experiments have subsequently identified a 900-bp cDNA sequence of APeg3 from mouse brain. Mouse APeg3 is localized in the 3'UTR of Peg3 with an intronless genomic structure. The expression of mouse APeg3 is derived mainly from the paternal allele, indicating the imprinting of this antisense transcript gene in brain. Strand-specific RNA analyses also revealed the expression of both human and cow APEG3 in adult brains. In sum, our study confirms that the mammalian PEG3 locus harbors an antisense transcript gene displaying paternal allele-specific expression, and the evolutionary conservation further suggests potential roles of this transcript gene for the function of this imprinted domain.
APeg3是Peg3的一个反义转录基因，最近从大鼠脑中被鉴定出来。对EST数据库的仔细分析表明，在包括小鼠、牛和人类在内的其他哺乳动物物种中也存在同源转录本。随后，5'-和3'-RACE实验从小鼠脑中鉴定出了APeg3的一个900bp cDNA序列。小鼠APeg3定位于Peg3的3'UTR，具有无内含子的基因组结构。小鼠APeg3的表达主要来自父本等位基因，表明该反义转录基因在脑中存在印记。链特异性RNA分析还揭示了人类和牛的APEG3在成体脑中的表达。总之，我们的研究证实哺乳动物PEG3基因座含有一个显示父本等位基因特异性表达的反义转录基因，并且这种进化保守性进一步表明该转录基因对这个印记区域的功能具有潜在作用。
