Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detection of transcribed sequences on human chromosome 21

Seventy-four pairs of oligonucleotides derived from sequence-tagged sites (STSs) on the long arm of human chromosome 21, specifically from bands 21q22.1 to 21q22.3, were used in reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) to detect the presence of expressed sequences in a fetal brain. These STSs included 69 that had not been related to transcribed sequences and 5 that had detected two known genes and three previously isolated cDNA clones. Of the 69 STSs analyzed in RT-PCR, 25 allowed amplification of specific cDNA fragments. The sizes of amplified cDNA fragments match those amplified from either human genomic DNA or somatic hybrid cells containing human chromosome 21. Of the 11 cDNA analyzed in Northern blot hybridizations, 6 hybridized to specific RNA species. The rapid screening for cDNA using previously mapped STSs has provided insight into the distribution of expressed sequences in this region of chromosome 21. Northern blot analysis of the amplified cDNA fragments has revealed interesting candidate genes in two disease loci. The marker D21S267 was previously mapped in the Down syndrome region of chromosome 21, and the marker D21S113 is closely linked to progressive myoclonus epilepsy. The cDNA fragments amplified using the primer sequences derived from D21S267 and D21S113 hybridized to 7- and 6.5-kb transcripts, respectively, which seem to express predominantly in brain.