Functional coordination of alternative splicing in the mammalian central nervous system
2007

Functional Coordination of Alternative Splicing in the Mammalian Central Nervous System

Sample size: 27 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Matthew Fagnani, Yoseph Barash, Joanna Y Ip, Christine Misquitta, Qun Pan, Arneet L Saltzman, Ofer Shai, Leo Lee, Aviad Rozenhek, Naveed Mohammad, Sandrine Willaime-Morawek, Tomas Babak, Wen Zhang, Timothy R Hughes, Derek van der Kooy, Brendan J Frey, Benjamin J Blencowe

Primary Institution: University of Toronto

Hypothesis

The study investigates how alternative splicing coordinates cellular processes in a tissue-specific manner in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS).

Conclusion

The study provides evidence that specific cellular processes in the mammalian CNS are coordinated at the level of alternative splicing, supported by a complex splicing code.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study identified 3,707 cassette-type AS events across 27 mouse tissues.
  • Approximately 110 AS events displayed specific regulation in CNS tissues.
  • 60% of CNS-associated AS events were detected in aligned human EST and cDNA sequences.

Takeaway

This study shows that the way genes are spliced can change depending on the type of tissue, especially in the brain, helping to control how genes work.

Methodology

The study used a microarray to profile alternative splicing levels for thousands of cassette-type alternative exons across various mouse tissues.

Limitations

Some CNS-specific AS events may be due to measurement error from varying transcript levels.

Participant Demographics

Mouse tissues from 27 diverse cell types were profiled.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<1 × 10-16

Statistical Significance

p<1 × 10-16

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/gb-2007-8-6-r108

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