Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) cDNA

We have isolated and sequenced a cDNA clone coding for the human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) from a human pancreatic cDNA library. The predicted product consists of 79 amino acids, and contains no apparent functional polypeptide other than PSTI. Southern blot analysis suggests that there is one copy of PSTI gene per haploid genome. This gene seems to be expressed not only in pancreas, but also in gastric mucosa, since a Northern blot analysis demonstrated the presence of a poly(A) RNA of the same size as in the pancreas. A comparison of sequences between human PSTI mRNA and mouse epidermal growth factor (EGF) mRNA revealed a high homology, suggesting that they share a common ancestral DNA sequence.