Polarizing the Neuron through Sustained Co-expression of Alternatively Spliced Isoforms.

ABSTRACT: Alternative splicing (AS) is an important source of proteome diversity in eukaryotes. However, how this affects protein repertoires at a single-cell level remains an open question. Here, we show that many 3'-terminal exons are persistently co-expressed with their alternatives in mammalian neurons. In an important example of this scenario, cell polarity gene Cdc42, a combination of polypyrimidine tract-binding, protein-dependent, and constitutive splicing mechanisms ensures a halfway switch from the general (E7) to the neuron-specific (E6) alternative 3'-terminal exon during neuronal differentiation. Perturbing the nearly equimolar E6/E7 ratio in neurons results in defects in both axonal and dendritic compartments and suggests that Cdc42E7 is involved in axonogenesis, whereas Cdc42E6 is req

SUBMITTER: Yap K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4870516 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature