0000000001070976
AUTHOR
C. Luther
Alternatively spliced transcripts of the thymus-specific protease PRSS16 are differentially expressed in human thymus.
The putative serine protease PRSS16 is abundantly expressed in the thymic cortex and the gene is encoded within the HLA I complex. Although its function is not yet defined, the very restricted expression points to a role in T-cell development in the thymus. In this study, we show that the PRSS16 mRNA is alternatively spliced to generate at least five transcripts. Apart from the full-length sequence, we found two other isoforms with all putative active site residues of the serine protease, suggesting that those variants may also be functional. Semi-quantitative analysis of the splice variants in different tissue samples revealed a strong correlation between the specific formation of alternat…
Complete Nucleotide Sequence of a Hemoglobin Gene Cluster from the Midge Chironomus thummi piger
The aquatic larvae of non-biting midges (Chironomidae, Diptera) contain a variety of Hb proteins in their hemolymph that enable them to survive in an anoxic environment (1). In Chironomus thummi thummi, 12 different Hb variants have been identified and their amino acid sequences determined (2). Based on these primary structures, the evolutionary relationships between the five monomeric and the s e v e n dimeric Hb proteins have been deduced (2). The two groups are thought to have evolved in two different lineages which separated more than 255 million years ago.