Apolipoprotein B-48 is the product of a messenger RNA with an organ-specific in-frame stop codon

The primary structure of human apolipoprotein (apo) B-48 has been deduced and shown by a combination of DNA excess hybridization, sequencing of tryptic peptides, cloned complementary DNAs, and intestinal messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to be the product of an intestinal mRNA with an in-frame UAA stop codon resulting from a C to U change in the codon CAA encoding Gln²¹⁵³ in apoB-100 mRNA. The carboxyl terminal Ile²¹⁵² of apoB-48 purified from chylous ascites fluid has apparently been cleaved from the initial translation product, leaving Met²¹⁵¹ as the new carboxyl terminus. These data indicate that ~85% of the intestinal mRNAs terminate within ~0.1 to 1.0 kilobase downstream from the stop codon. The other ~15% have lenghts similar to hepatic apoB-100 mRNA even though they have the same in-frame stop codon. The organ-specific introduction of a stop codon to a mRNA appears unprecedented and might have implications for cryptic polyadenylation signal recognition and RNA processing.