Differential splicing creates a diversity of transcripts from a neurospecific developmentally regulated gene encoding a protein with new zinc-finger motifs

We have cloned a novel neurospecific gene, named neuro-d4, by differential screening a rat cerebral cortex cDNA library. Northern blot hybridization showed that neuro-d4 expression is restricted to neuronal tissues both in newborn and adult animals. The level of neuro-d4 mRNA in the rat central nervous system is high during the later stages of embryonic development and gradually decreases during the postnatal period. In situ hybridization suggests that the gene transcripts are localized in neuronal cell bodies. Nucleotide sequences of overlapped cDNA clones and all 12 exons in genomic clone were determined. The deduced protein has consensus sequences for a nuclear localization signal, a Krüppel-type zinc-finger and a new type of cysteine/histidine-rich motif resembling zinc-fingers. Several differential splicing variants were found, each of which influences the structure of the encoded protein.