Identification of a novel, tissue-specific calpain htra-3; a human homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans sex determination gene

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 239; no. 3; pp. 845 - 850
• Main Authors: Mugita, N, Kimura, Y, Ogawa, M, Saya, H, Nakao, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 29.10.1997
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Blotting, Western; Caenorhabditis elegans - enzymology; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Calpain - chemistry; Calpain - genetics; Calpain - isolation & purification; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; Cloning, Molecular; Helminth Proteins - chemistry; Helminth Proteins - genetics; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Organ Specificity - genetics; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sex Determination Processes; Tumor Cells, Cultured
• ISSN: 0006-291X
• DOI: 10.1006/bbrc.1997.7571

We cloned a novel human gene encoding a tissue-specific calpain, termed htra-3, which is highly homologous to the tra-3 sex determination gene of Caenorhabditis elegans. The predicted htra-3 polypeptide had similarity to the calpain large subunits in domain organization throughout domains I to III, but the sequences of domain IV lacked calcium-binding motifs. Northern blot analysis revealed high expression in the colon, small intestine and testis. Radiation hybrid mapping localized the htra-3 gene to chromosome 11q14 (2.53cR apart from WI-3895). Western blot analysis demonstrated that the approximately 73-kDa htra-3 protein was transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. These observations, together with the genetic information in C.elegans, suggest a unique function for htra-3 protein.