Fetuin-B, a second member of the fetuin family in mammals.
A set of orthologous plasma proteins found in human, sheep, pig, cow and rodents, now collectively designated fetuin-A, constitutes the fetuin family. Fetuin-A has been identified as a major protein during fetal life and is also involved in important functions such as inhibition of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activity, protease inhibitory activities and development-associated regulation of calcium metabolism and osteogenesis. Furthermore, fetuin-A is a key partner in the recovery phase of an acute inflammatory response. We now describe a second protein of the fetuin family, called fetuin-B, which is found at least in human and rodents. On grounds of domain homology, overall conservation of cysteine residues and chromosomal assignments of the corresponding genes in these species, fetuin-B is unambiguously a paralogue of fetuin-A. Yet, fetuin-A and fetuin-B exhibit significant differences at the amino acid sequence level, notably including variations with respect to the archetypal fetuin-specific signature. Differences and similarities in terms of gene regulation were also observed. Indeed, studies performed during development in rat and mouse showed for the first time high expression of a member of the fetuin family in adulthood, as shown with the fetuin-B mRNA in rat. However, like its fetuin-A counterpart, the fetuin-B mRNA level is down-regulated during the acute phase of experimentally induced inflammation in rat.
Olivier
E
E
INSERM Unit-519 and Institut Fédératif de Recherches Multidisciplinaires sur les Peptides, Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, 22 Bvd Gambetta, 76183 Rouen Cedex, France.
Soury
E
E
Ruminy
P
P
Husson
A
A
Parmentier
F
F
Daveau
M
M
Salier
J P
JP
D000367:Age Factors; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D060752:Fetuin-B; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; C504687:FETUB protein, human; C504688:Fetub protein, mouse; C504689:Fetub protein, rat; D060752:Fetuin-B; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D003545:Cysteine