Linked Life Data

1537432

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/1537432

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1992-4-1
pubmed:abstractText
The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) is expressed in a specific spatiotemporal pattern during feather development, suggesting that adhesion mediated by this molecule is involved in feather morphogenesis. To begin to investigate N-CAM's function in developing feathers, we determined what forms of N-CAM polypeptide are present and the distribution of polysialic acid (PSA), a carbohydrate moiety that decreases N-CAM-mediated cellular adhesion. N-CAM in skin appears as a Mr 145-kDa polypeptide compared to the 140-kDa brain N-CAM polypeptide, and is encoded by a 6.4-kb mRNA, compared to the 6.1-kb mRNA in brain. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of the exon splicing pattern of skin N-CAM shows that the 6.4-kb mRNA band represents two transcripts, with and without a 93-bp insert between exons 12 and 13. Thus, two N-CAM polypeptides are expressed in skin, but the 93-bp insert does not account for the larger size of the skin mRNAs and polypeptides. We show that the size difference of the polypeptides is instead due to N-linked oligosaccharides attached to the skin N-CAM proteins. The larger size of the skin mRNAs may be due to use of a different transcriptional start site. Staining of skin sections and wholemounts confirms previous descriptions of N-CAM in developing feathers, but reveals that N-CAM is also present at low levels on epidermal cells as early as stage 29 (E6). We find that PSA is expressed only on a subset of the cells that express N-CAM, in particular on dermal cells in the feather rudiments from stage 35-36 (E9-10) and on smooth muscle cells at the base of the filaments from stage 37 (E11) until the latest stage examined (stage 44, E18). The known effects on cell-cell adhesion of amount of N-CAM and PSA suggest that the variations we observe in skin may regulate cell-cell interactions that are important in feather development.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0012-1606
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
150
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
171-84
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1992
pubmed:articleTitle
Structural variants of the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) in developing feathers.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't