An abundant evolutionarily conserved CSB-PiggyBac fusion protein expressed in Cockayne syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a devastating progeria most often caused by mutations in the CSB gene encoding a SWI/SNF family chromatin remodeling protein. Although all CSB mutations that cause CS are recessive, the complete absence of CSB protein does not cause CS. In addition, most CSB mutations are located beyond exon 5 and are thought to generate only C-terminally truncated protein fragments. We now show that a domesticated PiggyBac-like transposon PGBD3, residing within intron 5 of the CSB gene, functions as an alternative 3' terminal exon. The alternatively spliced mRNA encodes a novel chimeric protein in which CSB exons 1-5 are joined in frame to the PiggyBac transposase. The resulting CSB-transposase fusion protein is as abundant as CSB protein itself in a variety of human cell lines,

SUBMITTER: Newman JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2268245 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature