High-Level Expression of the Mnb/Dyrk1A Gene in Brain and Heart during Rat Early Development

• Published in: Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Calif.), 1999-12, Vol.62 (2), p.165-171
• Main Authors: Okui, Michiyo, Ide, Toshinori, Morita, Keiichi, Funakoshi, Eishi, Ito, Fumiaki, Ogita, Kiyokazu, Yoneda, Yukio, Kudoh, Jun, Shimizu, Nobuyoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Animals, Newborn - genetics; Animals, Newborn - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Northern; Blotting, Western; Brain - cytology; Brain - embryology; Brain - enzymology; Brain - growth & development; Cell differentiation, maturation, development, hematopoiesis; Cell physiology; Cells, Cultured; Chromosome aberrations; Dyrk Kinases; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Male; Medical genetics; Medical sciences; MNB /DYRK1A protein; Mnb/Dyrk1A gene; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular Sequence Data; Protein Kinases - biosynthesis; Protein Kinases - genetics; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - biosynthesis; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Rats; Rats, Wistar
• ISSN: 0888-7543; 1089-8646
• DOI: 10.1006/geno.1999.5998

We previously isolated human MNB/DYRK1A cDNA from “the Down syndrome critical region” of human chromosome 21 (Shindoh et al., 1996, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 225: 92–99). As described herein, we prepared a polyclonal anti-MNB/DYRK1A antibody and used it in a Western blot assay to assess the expression of the MNB/DYRK1A protein during rat development. The MNB/DYRK1A protein was expressed strongly not only in the brain but also in other tissues from embryonic rats. At the early postnatal stage, expression of the protein was high in the central nervous system and heart, but low in liver, lung, spleen, and kidney. The level of MNB/DYRK1A protein in all tissues studied gradually decreased with postnatal growth. Similarly, Northern blot analysis revealed that a major 6.0-kb transcript of the Mnb/Dyrk1A gene was expressed at a high level in the brain during the early postnatal period but that its level was low in the adult. The finding that the MNB/DYRK1A protein is expressed strongly in the central nervous system and heart may indicate a significant role for this protein in the development of these organs.