Protein chemical analysis of purified murine lamin B identifies two distinct polypeptides B1 and B2.

Lamin B purified from murine EAT cells was characterized by partial protein sequences. Contrary to the current view that mammals express only a single lamin B polypeptide corresponding to a characterized murine cDNA clone, our analysis documents two distinct B lamins. One protein follows the established cDNA sequence while the other identifies a novel murine lamin B. Comparison with the two chicken lamin B sequences established by cDNA cloning identifies the first murine lamin B sequence as a B1 type and the second as a B2 type. We conclude that mammals express two distinct lamin B forms as established by others for chicken.