Identification of a novel member of the TGF-beta superfamily highly expressed in human placenta.
While conducting a gene discovery effort targeted to transcripts of the prevalent and intermediate frequency classes in placenta throughout gestation, we identified a novel member of the TGF-beta superfamily that is expressed at high levels in human placenta. Hence, we named this factor 'Placental Transforming Growth Factor Beta' (PTGFB). The full-length sequence of the 1.2-kb PTGFB mRNA has the potential of encoding a putative pre-pro-PTGFB protein of 295 amino acids and a putative mature PTGFB protein of 112 amino acids. Multiple sequence alignments of PTGFB and representative members of all TGF-beta subfamilies evidenced a number of conserved residues, including the seven cysteines that are almost invariant in all members of the TGF-beta superfamily. The single-copy PTGFB gene was shown to be composed of only two exons of 309 bp and 891 bp, separated by a 2.9-kb intron. The gene was localized to chromosome 19p12-13.1 by fluorescence in-situ hybridization. Northern analyses revealed a complex tissue-specific pattern of expression and a second transcript of 1.9 kb that is predominant in adult skeletal muscle. Most importantly, the 1.2-kb PTGFB transcript was shown to be expressed in placenta at much higher levels than in any other human fetal or adult tissue surveyed.
Lawton
L N
LN
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Bonaldo
M F
MF
Jelenc
P C
PC
Qiu
L
L
Baumes
S A
SA
Marcelino
R A
RA
de Jesus
G M
GM
Wellington
S
S
Knowles
J A
JA
Warburton
D
D
Brown
S
S
Soares
M B
MB
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002888:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 19; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015870:Gene Expression; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006133:Growth Substances; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta