Byrne C D, Schwartz K, Meer K, Cheng J F, Lawn R M
Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305.
Arterioscler Thromb. 1994 Apr;14(4):534-41. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.14.4.534.
Lipoprotein(a) is an atherogenic lipoprotein whose function and plasma concentration reflect the structure and regulation of the apolipoprotein(a) gene. Apolipoprotein(a) is a close homologue of plasminogen, and their genes are tightly linked on chromosome 6. To further characterize these genes, we analyzed overlapping human genomic yeast artificial chromosome clones, which revealed a cluster of four highly homologous genes encoding apolipoprotein(a), plasminogen, and two apolipoprotein(a)-related genes (rg) or pseudogenes. Hybridization analysis and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that one of these novel genes, designated apolipoprotein(a)rg-C, has a domain structure similar to apolipoprotein(a) and is transcribed in human liver. Three additional homologues designated as plasminogen-related genes are shown to be unlinked to this gene cluster and reside on chromosomes 2 and 4.
脂蛋白(a)是一种致动脉粥样硬化脂蛋白，其功能和血浆浓度反映载脂蛋白(a)基因的结构和调控。载脂蛋白(a)是纤溶酶原的紧密同源物，它们的基因在6号染色体上紧密相连。为了进一步表征这些基因，我们分析了重叠的人类基因组酵母人工染色体克隆，结果显示有一组四个高度同源的基因，分别编码载脂蛋白(a)、纤溶酶原以及两个与载脂蛋白(a)相关的基因(rg)或假基因。杂交分析和逆转录酶聚合酶链反应表明，这些新基因之一，命名为载脂蛋白(a)rg-C，具有与载脂蛋白(a)相似的结构域结构，且在人类肝脏中表达。另外三个被指定为纤溶酶原相关基因的同源物显示与该基因簇不连锁，位于2号和4号染色体上。
