MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION OF THE MURINE SUBSTANCE P GENE

Abstract

Substance P is a neuropeptide that acts as a neurotransmitter and a neuromodulator in the body, and it also serves to regulate endocrine functions. It is an important mediator of pain and inflammation, and its role as an immunomodulalor in these processes is integral. On the other hand, the expression of substance P is regulated by several developmental and environmental stimuli. The gene that encodes for substance P is known as the preprotachykinin-A gene. This gene has been shown to undergo alternative splicing in rat and bovine tissues. Interestingly, the proportion of the different splice variants seems to be regulated in a tissue- and species-specific manner. Substance P belongs to the tachykinin family of peptides, which arc ubiquitously found in organisms. In this project, the presence of alternatively-spliced transcripts in mouse brain has been documented. The proportion of the different splice variants is similar to that found in rat tissues. In addition, part of the promoter region of the mouse gene has also been sequenced, and several consensus elements for the binding of putative regulatory proteins have been identified. This project will enable future studies on the regulation of substance P expression and the splicing of its gene to be done.