[Molecular cloning and characterization of hMGRAP, a human secreted protein with multiple glutamine repeat]

To search for human novel secreted proteins and study their biological functions, using bioinformatical tools and experimental approaches, a novel secreted protein, human hMGRAP (Human Multiple Glutamine Repeat Acidic Protein) was obtained. hMGRAP consists of six coding exons spanning 1547bp of genomic DNA on the human chromosome 7q22.1, which encodes a protein with 248 amino acids. hMGRAP is rich of glutamic acid repeated sequence and the PI is 4.6. The coding sequence of hMGRAP was cloned by PCR method from the cDNA pool composed of nine human tissues. Western blot showed that hMGRAP protein was massively secreted out from the transiently transfected Cos-7 cells. RT-PCR result indicated hMGRAP mRNA was abundantly expressed in testis. In summary, a novel human gene encoding a secreted protein hMGRAP has been screened and cloned, and its biological function may specifically relate to its repeated glutamic acid sequence.