Figure 2.

Relative abundance of splice variant mRNAs in mouse tissue, human brain and differentiating ES cells. (a) A mouse tissue cDNA panel was analysed by semiquantitative PCR with primers that anneal to exons 1 and 3 (short arrows on map). The α isoform was more abundant in lung, thymus, brain and heart. Amplification of an equimolar mixture of α- and β-encoding plasmids indicated no preference for amplification of either PCR band. (b) Human brain cDNA showed dominance of the α isoform mRNA. (c) ES cells were differentiated to give embryoid bodies and neuronal cells in culture. EB4 and EB8 refer to embryoid bodies on day 4 and day 8 of differentiation. 4DN2 refers to day 4 after embryoid bodies were split and plated on serum-free neurobasal medium.