title: Saitohin, which is nested within the tau gene, interacts with tau and Abl and its human-specific allele influences Abl phosphorylation.
abstract: Saitohin (STH) is a gene unique to humans and their closest relatives whose function is not yet known. STH contains a single polymorphism (Q7R); the Q allele is human-specific and confers susceptibility to several neurodegenerative diseases. In previous work, we discovered that STH interacts with Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6), a unique member of that family which is bifunctional and whose levels increase in Pick's disease. In this study, we report that STH also interacts with tau and the non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl (Abl). Furthermore, Abl phosphorylates STH on its single tyrosine residue and STH increases tyrosine phosphorylation by Abl. The effect of Saitohin on Abl-mediated phosphorylation appears to be allele-specific, providing evidence for a new cellular function for STH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: Athena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andreadis
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C458340:STH protein, human; D016875:tau Proteins; D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl