A new family of heparin-binding factors: strong conservation of midkine (MK) sequences between the human and the mouse |
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| Authors: | J Tsutsui K Uehara K Kadomatsu S Matsubara T Muramatsu |
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| Institution: | Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan. |
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| Abstract: | A retinoic acid responsive gene, MK, specifies for a heparin binding factor termed midkine (MK), which is the initial member of a new protein family involved in regulation of growth and differentiation. A cDNA clone of human MK was isolated from a fetal kidney cDNA library. Human MK mRNA was expressed in PA1 teratocarcinoma cells as well as in the kidney. Sequence analysis of the cDNA clone and of a part of the genomic clone yielded the predicted protein sequence of human MK. Human and mouse MK sequences are highly conserved: 87% of amino acids are identical and all amino acid changes are conservative except for an insertion. Comparison of MK and HB-GAM/pleiotrophin (another member of the family) from various species revealed sequences conserved in the family and those specific for each protein. |
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