Cloning and Distribution of rRP58, A Novel Neuronal Gene.

EST (AW055733) is a 3'-cDNA fragment specially expressed in rat brain. It is homologous to human and mouse RP58 gene, which is a transcriptional repressor gene. Primers were designed based on these two genes, and then two transcripts of rRP58 gene were got from male SD rat using RT-PCR method. The rRP58 protein is a C(2)H(2) type zinc finger protein, containing POZ domain at N-terminal and zinc finger domain (ZFD) at C-terminal. In addition, there is a highly acidic region between POZ and ZFD. POZ and ZFD were cloned, expressed and purified. Then, the antibodies to POZ and ZFD were prepared, and used to analyze distribution of alternative transcripts of rRP58.