Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurogenetic disorder resulting from the loss of paternal expression of gene(s) localized in the 15q11-q12 region. A new human gene encoding a putative protein with high homology to the mouse NECDIN protein has recently been characterized and mapped to chromosome 15q11-q12. It is expressed from the paternal allele only, suggesting its potential involvement in PWS. We now report the localization of the mouse Necdin gene in a region of conserved synteny to the human PWS region. We demonstrate the paternal specific expression of Necdin in the mouse central nervous system, and show that parental alleles display a differential methylation profile in the coding region. Finally, fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis reveals an asynchronous pattern of replication at the Necdin locus. These results clearly demonstrate imprinting of the mouse Necdin gene. Mouse models will be powerful tools in the study of human PWS phenotype and imprinting mechanisms.
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Acknowledgments
We thank J.-L. Guenet for providing us WMP and M. spretus mice, and L. Dandolo and P. Isnard for the gifts of murine H19 and AF4 probes, respectively. This work was supported by grants from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM), and the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC).
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Watrin, F., Roëckel, N., Lacroix, L. et al. The Mouse Necdin Gene Is Expressed from the Paternal Allele Only and Lies in the 7C Region of the Mouse Chromosome 7, a Region of Conserved Synteny to the Human Prader-Willi Syndrome Region. Eur J Hum Genet 5, 324–332 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405936
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405936
