Chonnam Med J.  2005 Apr;41(1):1-13.

The Identification and Characterization of Rat Telomerase Catalytic Subunit rTERT mRNA from Rat Genomic Sequence

• Kim MH
• Choi C

Abstract

On comparing mouse TERT mRNA with rat genomic DNA sequence by Genscan and BLAST program, we found the putative rTERT coding sequences embedded in rat draft genomic DNA. rTERT gene obtained from testis is composed of 16 exons. The cDNA contains an open reading frame of 3,378 bp, encoding a protein with a predicted size of 126.8 kDa. Sequence comparison of rTERT with known TERTs has uncovered four regions (v-I, v-II, v-III and v-IV) conserved in the N-terminal halves of vertebrate TERT proteins and eight motifs (T, 1, 2, and A-E) conserved in the C-terminal halves of the known TERT proteins. Real-time RT-PCR has revealed that mRNA of rTERT is detected in all of normal adult tissues, regardless of the presence or absence of telomerase activity Western blot analysis has revealed that rTERT protein is detected in testis, spleen and brain. This is the first identification and characterization of rTERT cDNA in rat. rTERT cDNA provided here will facilitate molecular approaches to determining the roles of and defining the regulatory mechanisms of rat telomerase in cellular senescence, immortalization, and carcinogenesis.

Keyword

rTERT; AtTERT; GAPDH; SYBR green

MeSH Terms

Adult
Animals
Base Sequence
Blotting, Western
Brain
Carcinogenesis
Cell Aging
Clinical Coding
DNA
DNA, Complementary
Exons
Humans
Mice
Open Reading Frames
Rats*
RNA, Messenger*
Spleen
Telomerase*
Testis
Vertebrates
DNA
DNA, Complementary
RNA, Messenger
Telomerase