The Primary Structure and Genomic Organization of Five Novel Transcripts Located Close to the Huntington's Disease Gene on

Five distinct novel transcripts (RES4-22,-23,-24,-25 and-26) that mapped to the 1-Mb interval between D4S180 and D4S183 on human chromosome 4pl6.3 close to the Huntington's disease (HD) gene were isolated, and the structure and exon/intron organization of each gene were thoroughly analyzed. The transcripts of the RES4-22,-23 and-24 genes each have several isoforms by alternative splicing and these have also been defined. Two transcripts, RES4-24 and RES4-25, reside in the same genomic region with opposite polarities and they also clearly overlap. Among these transcripts, RES4-26 was found to encode a novel zinc finger protein. The transcript map based upon our current level of analysis combined with data from previous studies reveals the gene-rich nature and the intricate organization of the genes in the HD locus. Key words: novel transcript; transcript map; human chromosome 4pl6.3; Huntington's disease 1