The Growth-hormone inducible transmembrane protein (Ghitm) belongs to the Bax inhibitory protein-like family [Abstract]

International Journal of Biological Sciences

ISSN 1449-2288

International Journal of Medical Sciences

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Int J Biol Sci 2007; 3:471-476 ©Ivyspring International Publisher

Research Paper

The Growth-hormone inducible transmembrane protein (Ghitm) belongs to the Bax inhibitory protein-like family

Kerstin Reimers^*, Claudia YU Choi^*, Vesna Bucan, Peter M Vogt

Department for Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical School Hannover, Podbielskistraße 380, D-30659 Hannover, Germany
*These authors contributed equally.

Abstract

The conserved protein domain UPF0005 is a protein family signature distributed among many species including fungi and bacteria. Although of unknown functionality this motif has been found in newly identified antiapoptotic proteins comprising the BI-1 family, namely Bax-inhibitory Protein-1 (BI-1), Lifeguard (LFG), and h-GAAP. In a search for vertebrate proteins presumably belonging to the BI-1 family, we found that Growth-hormone inducible transmembrane protein (Ghitm) is another prospective member of the BI-1 family. Here we characterise Ghitm in a first analysis regarding its phylogeny, expression in cancer cell lines, and proteomical properties.

Keywords: protein family, Bax-inhibitor, programmed cell death, bioinformatics, apoptosis inhibitors, transmembrane protein

How to cite this article:
Reimers K, Choi CYU, Bucan V, Vogt PM. The Growth-hormone inducible transmembrane protein (Ghitm) belongs to the Bax inhibitory protein-like family. Int J Biol Sci 2007; 3:471-476. Available from: http://www.biolsci.org/v03p0471.htm