Structure and developmental regulation of Golli-mbp, a 105-kilobase gene that encompasses the myelin basic protein gene and is expressed in cells in the oligodendrocyte lineage in the brain.

We have identified a novel transcription unit of 105 kilobases (called the Golli-mbp gene) that encompasses the mouse myelin basic protein (MBP) gene. Three unique exons within this gene are alternatively spliced into MBP exons and introns to produce a family of MBP gene-related mRNAs that are under individual developmental regulation. These mRNAs are temporally expressed within cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage at progressive stages of differentiation. Thus, the MBP gene is a part of a more complex gene structure, the products of which may play a role in oligodendrocyte differentiation prior to myelination. One Golli-mbp mRNA that encodes a protein antigenically related to MBP is also expressed in the spleen and other non-neural tissues.