Cloning of human striatin cDNA (STRN), gene mapping to 2p22-p21, and preferential expression in brain

Rat striatin, a recently discovered calmodulin-binding protein belonging to the WD repeat family, is expressed in neurons, mostly in the striatum and motor and olfactory systems. Striatin is localized in the somato-dendritic compartment of neurons, mainly in the spines. It may play a role in dendritic Ca2+ signaling. Here we report the cloning and sequencing of human striatin cDNA (HGMW-approved symbol STRN), the localization of the gene to chromosome 2p22-p21, and its preferential expression in brain. The human cDNA sequence is predicted to encode a 780-amino-acid protein possessing eight WD repeats. Striatin is highly conserved between rat and human with 96% identity and 98% similarity at the amino acid level. Since the Caenorabditis elegans genome also contains a closely related striatin coding sequence, the function of striatin is likely to be well conserved.