The closely related small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptides N and B/B' are distinguishable by antibodies as well as by differences in their mRNAs and gene structures.

The small nuclear ribonucleoprotein-associated polypeptides N, B and B' comprise a group of highly homologous, Sm epitope bearing proteins. However, N differs from B and B' in several ways. First, despite the extensive homology between their amino acid sequences, the antigenicity of the proteins N and B, as recognized by the monoclonal anti-Sm antibody, Y-12, is different. Second, whereas three distinct mRNA species encode human B, B', and N, only B appears to be ubiquitously expressed. Third, rodents do not contain mRNA that encodes B'. Fourth, in both humans and rats, mRNAs that encode B/B' (humans) or B (rodents) and N are transcribed from different genes. Fifth, N and B/B' specific probes reveal different size DNA fragments after human genomic DNA is amplified by a polymerase chain reaction based on oligonucleotides that simultaneously recognize cDNAs encoding N, B, and B'.