title: Characterization of a major member of the rat pregnancy-specific glycoprotein family.
abstract: The gene encoding the human pregnancy-specific glycoprotein (PSG) belongs to a gene subfamily, comprised of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and PSG subgroups, within the immunoglobulin superfamily. To study the functional roles of PSG during development in an animal model, we isolated and characterized a near full-length cDNA (rnCGM6) encoding a PSG-related protein from a rat placental cDNA library. rnCGM6 is 2,068 bp in length and contains an open reading frame that encodes a 475-amino-acid polypeptide with a predicted molecular mass of 53 kD. The 5' noncoding sequence is 173 nucleotides, and primer-extension experiments demonstrate that the transcriptional initiation site is located 22-24 nucleotides further upstream. The 3' noncoding sequence contains 470 nucleotides which is followed by a poly(A) tail. In contrast to human PSGs, which contain one immunoglobulin variable-like and two to three immunoglobulin constant-like protein domains, rnCGM6 contains three immunoglobulin variable-like domains and one immunoglobulin constant-like domain. rnCGM6 contains six potential N-linked glycosylation sites and, in its carboxyl-terminal domain, a tyrosine protein kinase phosphorylation site. The tyrosine phosphorylation site is conserved among all rat and human PSG members. rnCGM6 hybridized with a major 2.5-kb and two minor 3.0- and 3.5-kb mRNAs, all primarily expressed in the rat placenta. Ribonuclease protection analysis, using probes specific to the 5', middle, and 3' regions of rnCGM6, and the 5' region of a previously identified cDNA, rnCGM1, mainly yielded fully-protected fragments indicating relatively low sequence similarity among rat PSG-related proteins. Northern hybridization and ribonuclease protection assays also suggest that rnCGM6 may be the major PSG member in rat.
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Plouzek
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D004247:DNA; D005260:Female; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011268:Pregnancy-Specific beta 1-Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D011268:Pregnancy-Specific beta 1-Glycoproteins; D004247:DNA