Alternative splicing of mammalian Intersectin 1: domain associations and tissue specificities.

The Intersectin 1 (ITSN1) protein functions in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and in MAP kinase signaling. The complex domain structure comprises two EH and five SH3 domains in the short isoform, plus RhoGEF, pleckstrin, and putative calcium-interaction domains in the long isoform. Alternative splicing of exon 20, affecting the SH3A domain, has been shown in rat and that of exons 25 + 26, affecting the SH3C domain, has been shown in human and rat. Here we report 7 novel splice variants of the human and mouse ITSN1 genes and demonstrate conservation of alternative splicing affecting SH3A and SH3C in mouse. The novel variants encode transcripts with altered EH domain spacing and RhoGEF domain structure and possible targets of nonsense-mediated decay. Eight and 16 protein variants of the short and long ITSN1 isoforms, respectively, are predicted. These isoforms likely serve to modulate the many complex protein interactions and functions of ITSN1. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Inc.