Identification of another member of the transforming growth factor type beta gene family

We report here the complete amino acid sequence of another member of the type beta transforming growth factor gene family, deduced from the nucleotide sequence of three overlapping cDNA clones. The C-terminal 112 amino acids share approximately 80% sequence identity with type beta 1 and beta 2 transforming growth factors, with many of the remaining differences being conservative substitutions. By analogy to type beta 1 and type beta 2 transforming growth factors, we predict the protein to be synthesized as a 412 amino acid precursor that undergoes proteolytic cleavage to produce the mature polypeptide.