Characterization of tissue-specific mbu-3 gene expression in the mouse central nervous system

Mbu-3 is a novel mouse brain unigene that was identified by digital differential display. In this study, expression of the gene was chased through developmental stages and the protein product was identified in the brain. The cDNA sequence was 3,995-bp long and contained an ORF of 745 AA. Database searches revealed that the chicken SST273 gene containing LRR- and Ig-domain was an mbu-3 orthologue. Tissue specificity for the gene was examined in embryos and in brains at post-natal and adult stages. During the embryonic stages, mbu-3 was localized to the central nervous system in the brain and spinal cord. In the early post-natal stages, the gene was evenly expressed in the brain. However, with aging, expression was confined to specific regions, particularly the hippocampus. The protein was approximately 95 kDa as determined by Western blot analysis of brain extracts.