Cloning and sequence analysis of simian transforming growth factor-beta cDNA.

We have isolated a cDNA clone coding for the simian TGF-beta precursor from a cDNA library made from an African green monkey cell line, BSC-40. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mature simian TGF-beta shows 100% homology with that of the human TGF-beta: Strong sequence homology was found between the precursor regions of the human and simian proteins with only five amino acid changes out of 278. The simian (and murine) precursor sequence was found to code for one less amino acid residue than the human. The implications of these results with respect to the isolation of a growth inhibitor from these cells functionally related to the TGF-beta molecule are discussed.