Master Molecular Switch (IMAGE)

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Master Molecular Switch

Caption

Identification of the Epithelial Splicing Regulatory Proteins (ESRPs) in a firefly luciferase-based high throughput cDNA expression screen. Tissue culture plates containing cDNAs placed separately in individual wells were used to screen cells containing the splicing reporter (top). cDNAs that entered the cells and caused the reporter to switch splicing produced firefly luciferase (Luc). One of the wells that "glowed" contained a cDNA for one of the ESRPs, leading to its identification. A blow up of this well is shown at the bottom with a schematic presentation of a cell containing the reporter. A cDNA for ESRP (boxed) entered the cell nucleus (light blue) and was transcribed into ESRP protein (oval). When ESRP enhanced the splicing of an exon (red), the resulting mRNA produced luciferase protein in the cytoplasm of the cell.

Credit

Russ P. Carstens, M.D., University of Pennsylvania

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