Comparative Analysis of the Human Dystrophin and Utrophin Gene Structures

Comparative Analysis of the Human Dystrophin and Utrophin Gene Structures

Uberto Pozzoli^a, Manuela Sironi^a, Rachele Cagliani^a, Giacomo P. Comi^b, Alessandra Bardoni^a, and Nereo Bresolin^a,b
^a IRCCS E. Medea, Associazione La Nostra Famiglia, 23842 Bosisio Parini (LC), Italy
^b Centro Dino Ferrari, Istituto di Clinica Neurologica, Università di Milano, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy

Corresponding author: Manuela Sironi, Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini (LC), Italy., msironi{at}bp.lnf.it (E-mail)

Communicating editor: A. J. LOPEZ

We present analysis of intronic sequences in the human DMD andUTRN genes. In both genes accumulation of repeated elementscould account for intron expansion. Out-of-frame rod-domainexons have stronger splice sites and are separated by significantlylonger introns as compared to in-frame exons. These featuresare unique for the two homologs and not shared by other spectrinsuperfamily genes.

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