An 8-bp deletion in mNOTCH4 intron 10 leads to its retention in mRNA and to synthesis of a truncated protein

Notch signaling participates in the development of multicellular organisms by maintaining self-renewal potential or inducing differentiation of numerous tissues. In this study, we characterized Notch4, the evolutionary most distant and least studied Notch family member. We identified a Notch4 inter-strain polymorphism with a previously undescribed mRNA variant. This longer Notch4 mRNA, which represented up to one-third of total Notch4 mRNA, resulted from intron 10 retention. Analysis of Notch4 intron 10 revealed that an 8-bp deletion, reducing its length from 68 to 60 bp, strictly correlated with its retention. Further experiments demonstrated that intron length was the only cause of the mis-splicing. Moreover, this mRNA variant resulted in a truncated protein containing half the extracellular domain of Notch4, including the ligand-binding domain.