Figure 1. Endogenous pikachurin in retina and retina-derived cell lysates contains a ∼60-kD band, presumed to be an N-terminal fragment.

(A) Western analysis of pikachurin (PK) in salamander (SR), human (HR), and pig (PR) retina. (B) Pikachurin mRNA is expressed in Y79 retinoblastoma cells. RT-PCR results showed detectable signal in Y79 cells but not QBI-HEK293 cells. (C) A similar, 60-kD, pikachurin protein fragment was detected in untreated Y79 cells, which was not affected by protease inhibition in the culture media (PIs) or overexpression of murine dystroglycan (DG).