Molecular evolution of hemojuvelin and the repulsive guidance molecule family.
Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) are found in vertebrates and chordates and are involved in embryonic development and iron homeostasis. Members of this family are GPI-linked membrane proteins that contain an N-terminal signal peptide, a C-terminal propeptide, and a conserved RGD motif. Vertebrates are known to possess three paralogues; RGMA and RGMB (sometimes called Dragon) are expressed in the nervous system and are thought to play various roles in neural development. Hemojuvelin (HJV; also called repulsive guidance molecule c, RGMC) is the third member of this family, and mutations in this gene result in a form of juvenile hemochromatosis (type 2A). Phylogenetic analyses of 55 different RGM family sequences from 21 different species support the existence of a novel gene, found only in fish, which we have labeled RGMD. The pattern of conserved residues in each family identifies new candidates for important functional roles, including ligand binding.
Camus
Laura Marie
LM
Department of Biology, Chatham University, Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
Lambert
Lisa A
LA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005399:Fishes; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D000071020:Hemochromatosis Protein; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D051381:Rats; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D000071020:Hemochromatosis Protein; C513726:Hjv protein, rat; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C483496:Rgma protein, mouse; C483497:Rgmb protein, mouse