A new species of enkephalin precursor mRNA with a distinct 5′‐untranslated region in haploid germ cells

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Abstract
To elucidate the primary structure of preproenkephalin (A) mRNA expressed by haploid germ cells (round spermatids) in rat testis, we have screened a λgt11 cDNA library for preproenkephalin cDNA inserts. The largest cDNA insert contained a protein‐coding sequence encoding 269 amino acid residues as well as 327 and 309 bases of the 5′‐ and 3′‐untranslated regions, respectively. The protein‐coding region plus 3′‐untranslated region of the mRNA was over 99% homologous to that of brain preproenkephalin mRNA, whereas the 5′‐untranslated region contained a distinct sequence including a partial sequence of intron A of the preproenkephalin gene [(1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 14301–14308; (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 14309–14313]. Northern blot analysis using a 5′‐end‐specific probe showed that this type of preproenkephalin mRNA exists exclusively in the germ cells.