CROC-4: A novel brain specific transcriptional activator of c-fos expressed from proliferation through to maturation of multiple neuronal cell types

Abstract

A novel, brain-specific cDNA, denoted CROC-4, was cloned from human brain by a contingent replication of cDNA procedure capable of detecting transcriptional activators of the human c-fos proto-oncogene promoter. CROC-4 encoded an 18-kDa serine/threonine-rich polypeptide containing a P-loop motif and an SH3-binding region with phosphorylation sites for a variety of protein kinases (cdc2, CDK2, MAPK, CDK5, protein kinase C, Ca2+/calmodulin protein kinasa 2, casein kinase 2) involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. Immunohistochemistry revealed that during early development, expression was associated with proliferating and migrating cells throughout the rodent brain, initially appear..