Editing modifies the GABAA receptor subunit α3
- 1Department of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- 2Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
- 3Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
Abstract
Adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) pre-mRNA editing by the ADAR enzyme family has the potential to increase the variety of the proteome. This editing by adenosine deamination is essential in mammals for a functional brain. To detect novel substrates for A-to-I editing we have used an experimental method to find selectively edited sites and combined it with bioinformatic techniques that find stem–loop structures suitable for editing. We present here the first verified editing candidate detected by this screening procedure. We show that Gabra-3, which codes for the α3 subunit of the GABAA receptor, is a substrate for editing by both ADAR1 and ADAR2. Editing of the Gabra-3 mRNA recodes an isoleucine to a methionine. The extent of editing is low at birth but increases with age, reaching close to 100% in the adult brain. We therefore propose that editing of the Gabra-3 mRNA is important for normal brain development.
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Footnotes
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Reprint requests to: Marie Öhman, Department of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; e-mail: marie.ohman{at}molbio.su.se.
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Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are at http://www.rnajournal.org/cgi/doi/10.1261/rna.349107.
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- Received October 13, 2006.
- Accepted February 2, 2007.
- Copyright © 2007 RNA Society
