Comparative mapping of the reeler gene on human chromosome 7q22, rat chromosome 4q11.2, and mouse chromosome 5 A3-B1

Missplicing resulting from a short deletion in the reelin gene causes reeler-like neuronal disorders in the mutant shaking rat Kawasaki

The shaking rat Kawasaki (SRK) is an autosomal recessive mutant that exhibits reeler-like abnormal locomotor behaviors. The murine reeler mutants arise from several mutations in the specific gene called reelin, which result in defects of Reelin expression or secretion in the cerebral cortex and other regions of CNS. To address the issue of whether the SRK mutation also arises from a mutation in reelin, we analyzed the reelin gene in SRK. Northern analysis of reelin mRNA from normal rats showed that rat reelin was expressed as a approximately 12-kb transcript in both the cerebrum and the cerebellum, whereas reelin expression was markedly reduced in the SRK brains. In situ hybridization analysis showed that reelin mRNA in the SRK brains was expressed in Cajal-Retzius cells in the marginal zone of the cerebral cortex and outer granular cells in the cerebellar cortex in similar manners to normal controls, but its expression was considerably reduced. On Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses using antibodies specific for the Reelin protein, no immunoproduct was recognized in the cerebral and cerebellar cortices. From the cDNA sequences, we found a 64-base heterologous sequence in SRK reelin, which contains a termination codon in the reading frame. Furthermore, genomic DNA analysis revealed that a 10-base deletion, which contains a predicted splice donor site, occurred in the SRK genomic reelin gene, resulting in "read through" into the following intron in SRK. Thus, the SRK mutation is another type of mutation that lacks expression of the functional Reelin protein and, therefore, causes the reeler phenotype.

Construction of comparative cytogenetic maps of the Chinese hamster to mouse, rat and human

We constructed comparative cytogenetic maps of the Chinese hamster to mouse, rat and human by fluorescence in-situ hybridization using 36 cDNA clones of mouse, rat, Syrian hamster, Chinese hamster and human functional genes. In this study, 30 out of the 36 genes were newly mapped to Chinese hamster chromosomes. The chromosomal homology of the Chinese hamster was identified and arranged in 19, 19 and 18 segments of conserved synteny in mouse, rat and human, respectively. Additionally, two of the 19 segments homologous to mouse chromosomes were initially identified in this study.