The human serum deprivation response gene (SDPR) maps to 2q32-q33 and codes for a phosphatidylserine-binding protein.

The serum deprivation response gene (SDPR, alias sdr) has been previously isolated for its high mRNA expression in serum-starved cells compared to contact-inhibited NIH3T3 cells; such regulation is not observed in single-oncogene transformed NIH3T3 cells after serum starvation. More recently Sdpr has been identified as a substrate of protein kinase C (PKC): this interaction determines the compartimentalization of PKC to caveolae, a plasma membrane invagination of which Sdpr is a major component. Lack of Sdpr-PKC interaction in transformed cells has been proposed to be involved in the alteration of PKC subcellular localization and substrate specificity. Here we report the cloning of the human SDPR homologue (HGMW-approved symbol SDPR) and its mapping to 2q32-q33 in the human genome. In analogy with the murine system, SDPR mRNA expression is increased when human fibroblasts are serum starved, it becomes down-regulated during synchronous cell-cycle reentry, but it is not induced in cells arrested by contact inhibition. Analysis of SDPR expression in human tissues reveals a near ubiquitous expression, with highest levels found in heart and lung. We show that human SDPR encodes PS-p68, a previously characterized phosphatidylserine-binding protein purified from human platelets. Accordingly, recombinant Sdpr is able to specifically bind phosphatidylserine in the absence of Ca2+. SDPR is homologous to two genes in the databank, one of which, srbc, is similarly regulated during growth arrest and encodes a phosphatidylserine-binding protein that is a substrate of PKC.