Structural analysis of mouse pigment epitheliumderived factor gene

Purpose. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) seems to be involved in a series of important biological functions including cellular differentiation and neuron survival. In order to further assess the bi ological function of PEDF, we have cloned the mouse ES strain PEDF gene and determined its structure. In addition, we have measured the expression of PEDF mKN A. levels in mouse tissues. Methods. Mouse cDNA library (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) was screened using a human PEDF cDNA probe. A mouse ES PI genomic library was screened by Genome Systems Inc. (St Louis, MO) using mouse specific primers. Northern blots from mouse tissues were probed with a mouse PEDF cDNA clone. Results. The deduced sequence of the mouse PEDF is 84.7% homologous to human PEDF and 86.1% homologous to bovine. The mouse PEDF gene has a sinilar structure to the human gene containing 8 exons and 7 introns and spanning appioximately 13 kb. The expression of mouse PEDF mRNA, like in humans, is wide-spread among the different tissues with liver having the highest level of expression. Conclusions We have determined the full structure of the mouse PEDF gene and its expression patterns in different tissues. We will use this information to develop a PEDF "knock-out" mouse We hope this will help us further elucidate the function of PEDF.