Molecular Neuroscience: PDF OnlyFlip and flop isoforms of chick brain AMPA receptor subunits cloning and analysis of expression patternsRavindranathan, Ajay; Parks, Thomas N.; Rao, Mahendra S. Author Information Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, 401 Bldg. 531, University of Utah School of Medicine, 50 North Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA NeuroReport: November 4, 1996 - Volume 7 - Issue 15 - p 2707-2712 Buy Abstract USING oligonucleotide primers, we have amplified and sequenced the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors from the brain of 17-day-old chick embryos. Both flip and flop isoforms of each of these glutamate receptors (GluR)were identified and cloned. Nucleotide comparisons showed that the two isoforms for each chick receptor subtype were 71–78% identical, whereas homologous chick and rat isoforms were 94–98% identical. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis were employed to identify regional variation in flip and flop levels of each AMPA receptor. Flip isoforms of GluR 1–3 predominated in forebrain, while flop variants of GluR 1–4 were more prevalent in the cerebellum. This differential regional expression suggests that alternative splicing of AMPA receptor subunits contributes importantly to synaptic diversity in chick central nervous systems. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
