Young D, O'Neill K, Jessell T, Wigler M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY 11724.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(14):5339-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.14.5339.
The human mas oncogene was originally detected by its ability to transform NIH 3T3 cells. We previously showed that the protein encoded by this gene is unique among cellular oncogene products in that it has seven hydrophobic potential transmembrane domains and shares strong sequence similarity with a family of hormone-receptor proteins. We have now cloned the rat homolog of the mas oncogene, determined its DNA sequence, and examined its expression in various rat tissues. A comparison of the predicted sequences of the rat and human mas proteins shows that they are highly conserved, except in their hydrophilic amino-terminal domains. Our examination of the expression of mas, determined by RNA-protection studies, indicates that high levels of mas RNA transcripts are present in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of the brain, but not in other neural regions or in other tissues. This pattern of expression and the similarity of mas protein to known receptor proteins suggest that mas encodes a receptor that is involved in the normal neurophysiology and/or development of specific neural tissues.
人类mas癌基因最初是通过其转化NIH 3T3细胞的能力而被检测到的。我们先前表明，该基因编码的蛋白质在细胞癌基因产物中是独特的，因为它具有七个潜在的疏水跨膜结构域，并且与一类激素受体蛋白具有很强的序列相似性。我们现已克隆出mas癌基因的大鼠同源物，确定了其DNA序列，并检测了它在各种大鼠组织中的表达。大鼠和人类mas蛋白预测序列的比较表明，除了它们的亲水性氨基末端结构域之外，它们高度保守。我们通过RNA保护研究对mas表达的检测表明，mas RNA转录本的高水平存在于脑的海马体和大脑皮层中，但不存在于其他神经区域或其他组织中。这种表达模式以及mas蛋白与已知受体蛋白的相似性表明，mas编码一种参与特定神经组织正常神经生理学和/或发育的受体。
