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Messenger RNA expressed in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells and down-regulated by a tumor-promoting phorbol ester

J Akagi1, H Nomiyama, C Setoyama

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|December 15, 1988
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified a novel protein in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells that disappears upon tumor promoter treatment. This protein has a signal peptide and membrane-spanning regions, with no known sequence similarity to other proteins.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Mouse F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells are a model for early embryonic development.
  • Tumor-promoting phorbol esters can induce differentiation and alter gene expression in these cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To clone and analyze the DNA complementary to a specific mRNA.
  • To characterize a protein that is rapidly downregulated by phorbol ester treatment in F9 cells.

Main Methods:

  • Cloning of complementary DNA (cDNA).
  • Sequence analysis of the cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence.
  • Computer-assisted analysis for protein structural motifs.

Main Results:

  • A 1.9 kilobase pair cDNA was isolated, encoding a 323 amino acid protein.
  • The protein possesses a hydrophobic signal peptide (33 amino acids) and six predicted membrane-spanning segments.
  • No significant sequence homology was found with known proteins.

Conclusions:

  • A novel protein, potentially involved in F9 cell differentiation or response to tumor promoters, has been identified.
  • The protein's predicted structure suggests it is membrane-associated.

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