Objective To study the inclusion of SMN2 exon 7 in different tissues of SMA mice, and to screen the related splicing factors.
Methods The inclusion ratio of SMN2 exon 7 in neural and non-neural tissues was analyzed by RT-PCR and native PAGE electrophoresis, and the mRNA levels of splicing factors in brain and spinal cord and non-neural tissues were analyzed by QPCR screening.
Results The inclusion rate of SMN2 exon 7 in brain and spinal cord tissues was significantly higher than that in non-neural tissues, and QPCR screening showed that the expression of Nova1/2 in brain and spinal cord was significantly higher than that in most non-neural tissues. Differential analysis showed that the expression of Srsf7/9 and Nova2 in the spinal cord of SMA type I mice was significantly higher than that of control mice.
Conclusion In neural tissue, the high expression of Srsf7/9 and Nova1/2 genes is positively correlated with the significant increase in the inclusion rate of SMN2 exon 7. The splicing factors SRSF7/9 and NOVA1/2 may be involved in the splicing regulation of SMN2 gene.