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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe In tissues such as cartilage and muscle, the downregulation of _Msx1_ expression during development is associated with a transition from an
undifferentiated, proliferative state to a terminally differentiated one. When Blin-Wakkach and colleagues generated _Msx1_-deficient mice by means of a _LacZ_ insertion, they noticed that
_LacZ_ was not expressed in mice that were heterozygous for the insertion, even though the transcript was detectable by PCR. To test whether the lack of _LacZ_ expression was due to
regulation by an antisense RNA, the authors identified, by Northern blot analysis, an endogenous transcript the sequence of which was complementary to part of the _Msx1_ transcript and had
no obvious coding potential. The antisense transcript was ∼2.2 kb and overlapped with at least one _Msx1_ intron–exon boundary. The authors also mapped the transcription initiation site of
the antisense transcript and identified a 66-bp putative promoter region that is conserved in five mammalian species. The antisense RNA was much more abundant than the sense RNA and its
transcription coincided with terminal differentiation in the craniofacial region. Simultaneous disappearance of the Msx1 protein indicates that _Msx1_ expression might be regulated by the
ratio of its sense and antisense transcripts. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal
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REFERENCES ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER * Blin-Wakkach, C. et al. Endogenous _Msx1_ antisense transcript: _in vivo_ and _in vitro_ evidences, structure, and potential involvement in skeleton
development in mammals. _Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA_ 98, 7336–7341 (2001) Article CAS Google Scholar FURTHER READING * Kumar, M. & Carmichael, G. Antisense RNA: function and fate of
duplex RNA in cells of higher eukaryotes. _Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev._ 62, 1415–1434 (1998) CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Download references Authors * Magdalena Skipper View
author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Skipper, M. Facing up to
antisense. _Nat Rev Genet_ 2, 566 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35084530 Download citation * Issue Date: 01 August 2001 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35084530 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone
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