Linkage arrangement of human placental lactogen and growth hormone genes

Human placental lactogen (hPL) and growth hormone (hGH) are two hormones thought to have evolved from a common ancestral gene (along with prolactin), yet they have quite different functions and specificities. The nucleic acid sequences of the respective cDNAs of the two genes share considerable homology, as well as the existence of multiple forms of each gene within the genome. In this study we report on the linkage arrangement of several genes from this group. Two hPL-like genes as well as an hGH gene are shown to be linked within a 38-kilobase pair region of DNA. Linkage between a variant hGH gene and an hPL gene is also shown. The orientation and structural organization of these genes was previously established using 5'- and 3'-specific probes from a placental lactogen cDNA clone and detailed restriction endonuclease mapping. Restriction fragments from the overlapping clones were verified by comparison to digests of high molecular weight genomic DNA. In addition, the location of a specific class of repetitive DNA sequences, the Alu family, was mapped on these clones using the recombinant clone BLUR 8. All members of this multigene family have Alu repeat sequences either immediately flanking their 3' or 5' untranslated regions or within their intervening sequences.