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. 1995 Apr 25;92(9):3697–3701. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.9.3697

G-utrophin, the autosomal homologue of dystrophin Dp116, is expressed in sensory ganglia and brain.

D J Blake 1, J N Schofield 1, R A Zuellig 1, D C Górecki 1, S R Phelps 1, E A Barnard 1, Y H Edwards 1, K E Davies 1
PMCID: PMC42028  PMID: 7731967

Abstract

The utrophin gene is closely related to the dystrophin gene in both sequence and genomic structure. The Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) locus encodes three 14-kb dystrophin transcripts in addition to several smaller isoforms, one of which, Dp116, is specific to peripheral nerve. We describe here the corresponding 5.5-kb mRNA from the utrophin locus. This transcript, designated G-utrophin, is of particular interest because it is specifically expressed in the adult mouse brain and appears to be the predominant utrophin transcript in this tissue. G-utrophin is expressed in brain sites generally different from the regions expressing beta-dystroglycan. During mouse embryogenesis G-utrophin is also seen in the developing sensory ganglia. Our data confirm the close evolutionary relationships between the DMD and utrophin loci; however, the functions for the corresponding proteins probably differ.

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