CLONING OF THE RAT CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE-4 CDNA - IMPLICATION IN PROLIFERATION-DEPENDENT EXPRESSION IN RAT-TISSUES

To identify protein kinases that may regulate fetal growth and differentiation, we used an oligonucleotide probe encoding the conserved sequence of serine/threonine kinases to screen a fetal lung cDNA library. Several clones were isolated and sequenced, one of which encodes the rat homolog of the 34 kilodalton cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (p34(cdk4)). Northern blot analyses of pre- and postnatal rat tissues show that rat cdk4 is expressed in a developmentally regulated pattern in all tissues examined. The mRNA is also significantly decreased in cells that are arrested in the G1 phase of cell cycle. The regulated expression of rat cdk4 is consistent with a proliferation-, rather than a differentiation-, dependent pattern. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.