You Are Working to Characterize a Novel Protein in Mice

You are working to characterize a novel protein in mice. Analysis shows that high levels of the primary transcript that codes for this protein are found in tissue from the brain, muscle, liver, and pancreas. However, an antibody that recognizes the C-terminal portion of the protein indicates that the protein is present in brain, muscle, and liver, but not in the pancreas. What is the most likely explanation for this result?

A) The gene that codes for this protein is not transcribed in the pancreas.
B) There is no modification of the primary transcript in the pancreas.
C) There is no modification of the primary transcript in the brain, muscle, and liver.
D) Alternative splicing in the pancreas yields a protein that is missing the portion that the antibody recognizes.
E) Alternative splicing in the brain, muscle, and liver increases the level of translation.