Expression of three drebrin isoforms in the developing nervous system.

Drebrins are developmentally regulated brain proteins which were first isolated from brains of 10-day chick embryos. They are classified into three forms, drebrins E1, E2 and A. Cloning of drebrin cDNAs revealed that each drebrin isoform is encoded in an independent mRNA. Genomic Southern blot analysis and cloning of a drebrin gene revealed that the mRNAs of three drebrin isoforms are generated by alternative RNA splicing from a single gene. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization analysis of the embryonic cerebellum indicated that drebrin mRNA is first transcribed in postmitotic neurons and that there seem relations between cell migration and expression of drebrin E1.