Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Biosci, 2014 Jun;39(3):493-504.
PMID: 24845512

Abstract

DARPP-32 (dopamine and adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate-regulated phosphoprotein of 32 kDa), which belongs to PPP1R1 gene family, is known to act as an important integrator in dopamine-mediated neurotransmission via the inhibition of protein phosphatase-1 (PP1). Besides its neuronal roles, this protein also behaves as a key player in pathological and pharmacological aspects. Use of bioinformatics and phylogenetics approaches to further characterize the molecular features of DARPP-32 can guide future works. Predicted phosphorylation sites on DARPP-32 show conservation across vertebrates. Phylogenetics analysis indicates evolutionary strata of phosphorylation site acquisition at the C-terminus, suggesting functional expansion of DARPP-32, where more diverse signalling cues may involve in regulating DARPP-32 in inhibiting PP1 activity. Moreover, both phylogenetics and synteny analyses suggest de novo origination of PPP1R1 gene family via chromosomal rearrangement and exonization.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.