title: Identification of a novel, tissue-specific calpain htra-3; a human homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans sex determination gene.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumor Genetics and Biology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mugita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakao
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002154:Calpain / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D002154:Calpain; C102444:TRA-3 protein, C elegans