Abstract
The Trk family of receptor tyrosine kinases has been identified as the high affinity receptors for neurotrophins such as NGF, BDNF, NT-3 and NT-4. As part of our effort to study the development of mesencephalic dopamine neurons in primate, we sought to examine the pattern of expression of trk A, trk B and trk C gene transcripts in midbrains of developing and adult African green monkeys. Using the technique of RT-PCR with two degenerate oligo primers corresponding to conserved amino acid (a.a.) sequences in the extracellular domain and in the tyrosine kinase domain, we showed that the expression of trk A, trk B and trk C mRNAs were differentially regulated during fetal development in monkey midbrain. In addition, nucleotide sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed a novel isoform of the trk C gene transcript which contains a 24 b.p. deletion in the extracellular region adjacent to the transmembrane domain. The deletion results in a substitution of the residue valine for the a.a. sequence Glu-Ser-Thr-Asp-Asn-Phe-Ileu-Leu-Phe (equivalent to a.a. 402-410 of the published porcine Trk C sequence) present within the extracellular domain of the monkey Trk C receptor. Futhermore, we showed by RNase protection assay that these two trk C isoforms were co-expressed in a similar manner in both developing and adult monkey brains. Our data thus indicate that an additional isoform of the Trk C receptor tyrosine kinase exists in primate and may provide additional specificity of response to different members of the family of neurotrophins. Supported in part by PHS grant MH-14092 and the Axion Research Foundation.
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Tam, SY., Elsworth, J., Redmond, D. et al. Expression Of A Novel TRK C Receptor Isoform With Truncated Extracellular Domain In Fetal And Adult Monkey Brains. Neuropsychopharmacol 11, 286 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1380219
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1380219