RNA Processing Regulation of Neuroendorcrine Gene Expression

Abstract

Alternative RNA processing events account for biological polymorphism in the endocrine, immune, and other systems; these may have possible widespread significance in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. The selective use of alternative hormone-encoding exons can produce multiple mRNAs generating different protein products. The resultant "peptide switching" is a previously unrecognized mechanism allowing a single gene to encode different hormones in different tissues and thus increases the diversity of endocrine gene expression.