Parkin transcript variants in rat and human brain

Alternative splicing has an important role in expanding protein diversity. We have identified complementary DNA species from adult rat and fetal human brain encoding seven new splice variants of parkin, a gene mutated in autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism (ARJP). Alternative splicing affects almost all previously characterized exons, plus 3 new exons of 72, 156, and 180 nucleotides. This creates the potential to express hundreds of different isoforms. The encoded parkin isoforms have different amino acid composition, post-translational modifications, and, most important, molecular architectures. They diverge for the presence or absence of the ubiquitin-like domain, one or two C3HC4 ring fingers, the in-between ring fingers (IBR) domain, and a thiol proteases active site, which has not been previously characterized. Distinct expression patterns occur in primary cultures of neuronal and glial cells. Extensive splicing of parkin produces regional and structural diversity and may have important implications for the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying ARJP.