Biomaterial Database

MATH-2, a mammalian helix-loop-helix factor structurally related to the product of Drosophila proneural gene atonal, is specifically expressed in the nervous system. 1995

C Shimizu, and C Akazawa, and S Nakanishi, and R Kageyama

Institute for Immunology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Sakyo-ku, Japan.

In Drosophila, multiple helix-loop-helix (HLH) factors play an essential role in neural development. Mammalian homologues of such Drosophila HLH factors have been recently characterized and provide useful information for the analysis of the mechanisms of mammalian neurogenesis. We report here the molecular characterization of a novel mouse HLH factor, designated MATH-2, that has a structural homology to the product of Drosophila proneural gene atonal. MATH-2 consists of 337 amino acid residues and contains an atonal-related basic HLH domain. However, outside of this domain, there is no significant sequence similarity between MATH-2 and Atonal. MATH-2 expression occurs by embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5), and is first detected in the wall of brain vesicles as well as in the spinal cord. It is expressed in the cortical plate and the mantle layer throughout the developing central nervous system but not in the ventricular zone. By E13.5, the expression becomes more prominent in the cortical plate of the cerebrum but decreases in the other regions. In the adult, the cerebrum produces a high level of MATH-2 RNA but other neural tissues produce only low levels. MATH-2 RNA is not detected in non-neural tissues, indicating that MATH-2 expression is specific to the nervous system. The gel mobility-shift analysis shows that MATH-2 can interact with several E-box sequences in collaboration with E47, a ubiquitously expressed HLH factor. These results raise the possibility that MATH-2 may be a trans-acting factor involved in the development and maintenance of the mammalian nervous system.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008322	Mammals	Warm-blooded vertebrate animals belonging to the class Mammalia, including all that possess hair and suckle their young.	Mammalia,Mammal
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009419	Nerve Tissue Proteins		Proteins, Nerve Tissue,Tissue Proteins, Nerve
D009420	Nervous System	The entire nerve apparatus, composed of a central part, the brain and spinal cord, and a peripheral part, the cranial and spinal nerves, autonomic ganglia, and plexuses. (Stedman, 26th ed)	Nervous Systems,System, Nervous,Systems, Nervous
D003001	Cloning, Molecular	The insertion of recombinant DNA molecules from prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic sources into a replicating vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus vector, and the introduction of the resultant hybrid molecules into recipient cells without altering the viability of those cells.	Molecular Cloning
D004268	DNA-Binding Proteins	Proteins which bind to DNA. The family includes proteins which bind to both double- and single-stranded DNA and also includes specific DNA binding proteins in serum which can be used as markers for malignant diseases.	DNA Helix Destabilizing Proteins,DNA-Binding Protein,Single-Stranded DNA Binding Proteins,DNA Binding Protein,DNA Single-Stranded Binding Protein,SS DNA BP,Single-Stranded DNA-Binding Protein,Binding Protein, DNA,DNA Binding Proteins,DNA Single Stranded Binding Protein,DNA-Binding Protein, Single-Stranded,Protein, DNA-Binding,Single Stranded DNA Binding Protein,Single Stranded DNA Binding Proteins
D004330	Drosophila	A genus of small, two-winged flies containing approximately 900 described species. These organisms are the most extensively studied of all genera from the standpoint of genetics and cytology.	Fruit Fly, Drosophila,Drosophila Fruit Flies,Drosophila Fruit Fly,Drosophilas,Flies, Drosophila Fruit,Fly, Drosophila Fruit,Fruit Flies, Drosophila
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001483	Base Sequence	The sequence of PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in nucleic acids and polynucleotides. It is also called nucleotide sequence.	DNA Sequence,Nucleotide Sequence,RNA Sequence,DNA Sequences,Base Sequences,Nucleotide Sequences,RNA Sequences,Sequence, Base,Sequence, DNA,Sequence, Nucleotide,Sequence, RNA,Sequences, Base,Sequences, DNA,Sequences, Nucleotide,Sequences, RNA