Chunk #16 — Results — Kal7 is expressed in the major neuronal cell types in nucleus accumbens and dorsal striatum — Usage of ΔKalrn promoter and alternate 3'-terminal exons is region-specific
In the adult rat brain, usage of a promoter located in the intron that separates exons 10 and 11 yields the Δ-isoforms of Kalirin (Figures 2 and 4A). These isoforms lack the Sec14p domain and the first four spectrin-like repeats of full-length Kalirin. In rat cortical and hippocampal neurons, expression of exogenous Kal7 causes the formation of new dendritic spines. In contrast, expression of ΔKal7 increases spine size, but does not increase spine number [24].
