POM-ZP3, a bipartite transcript derived from human ZP3 and a POM121 homologue

• Published in: Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Calif.), 1995, Vol.25 (2), p.354-359
• Main Authors: Kipersztok, Simon, Osawa, Gail A., Liang, Li-Fang, Modi, William S., Dean, Jurrien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7; Egg Proteins - genetics; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes. Genome; Humans; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Multigene Family; Nuclear Proteins; Open Reading Frames; Organ Specificity; Ovary - metabolism; Rats - genetics; Receptors, Cell Surface; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sequence Homology; Species Specificity; Zona Pellucida Glycoproteins
• ISSN: 0888-7543; 1089-8646
• DOI: 10.1016/0888-7543(95)80033-I

Human POM-ZP3 is a novel bipartite RNA transcript that is derived from a gene homologous to rat POM121 (a nuclear pore membrane protein) and ZP3 (a sperm receptor ligand in the zona pellucida). The 5′ region is 77% identical to the 5′ end of the coding region of rat POM121 and appears to represent a partial duplication of a gene encoding a human homologue of this rodent gene. The 3′ end of the POM-ZP3 transcript is 99% identical to ZP3 and appears to have arisen from a duplication of the last four exons (exons 5–8) of ZP3. Using Northern blots and RT-PCR, POMZP3 transcripts were detected in human ovaries, testes, spleen, thymus, lymphocytes, prostate, and intestines. The longest open reading frame encodes a conceptual protein of 210 amino acids, the first 76 of which are 83% identical to residues 241–315 of rat POM121. The next 125 amino acids are 98% identical to residues 239–363 of the 424-amino-acid human ZP3 protein. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, genomic fragments of ZP3 and a human homologue of POM121 were localized to chromosome 7q11.23. Taken together, these data suggest that partial duplications of human ZP3 and a POM121-like gene have resulted in a fusion transcript, POM-ZP3, that is expressed in multiple human tissues.