[Cloning and expression analysis of human N-acetyltransferase doman containing gene hNATL]

A novel human gene hNA TL (Human NAT Like) was cloned by in silico cloning and RT-PCR. hNA TL cDNA is 1803bp in length with a 621bp coding region, and the Genbank accession No. is AY632082. hNA TL encodes a protein of 206 amino acid residues which containing a N-acetyltransferase domain. hNA TL is located on human chromosome 17q25.2 with 6 exons. Serial analysis of gene expression revealed that hNA TL was highly expressed in human brain and gonad, while hNA TL was expressed in heart, spleen and gonad of adult mouse. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that hNATL specifically expresses in E7.5 and E8.5 mouse embryo brains and in HH10 stage chicken embryo brain. These results suggest that hNATL may play an important role in the development of embryo brain and may also be important for function of adult brain and gonad.