The proximal first exon architecture of the murine ghrelin gene is highly similar to its human orthologue.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The murine ghrelin gene (Ghrl), originally sequenced from stomach tissue, contains five exons and a single transcription start site in a short, 19 bp first exon (exon 0). We recently isolated several novel first exons of the human ghrelin gene and found evidence of a complex transcriptional repertoire. In this report, we examined the 5' exons of the murine ghrelin orthologue in a range of tissues using 5' RACE.

Findings

5' RACE revealed two transcription start sites (TSSs) in exon 0 and four TSSs in intron 0, which correspond to 5' extensions of exon 1. Using quantitative, real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), we demonstrated that extended exon 1 containing Ghrl transcripts are largely confined to the spleen, adrenal gland, stomach, and skin.

Conclusion

We demonstrat

SUBMITTER: Seim I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2689246 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature