A tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein gene, tpis, whose expression is induced with differentiation of spermatogenic cells.

The tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) is a degenerate 34-amino-acid sequence which forms scaffolds to mediate protein-protein interactions. We have isolated a cDNA named tpis from mouse embryonic skin and found that the deduced 529-amino-acid sequence contained 5 TPRs. In addition to skin, the transcript of tpis was detected in tissues with stratified squamous epithelium, e.g., tongue, esophagus, and forestomach. tpis was most strongly expressed in testis among adult tissues examined. The transcript of tpis from testis was longer, encoding 372 additional amino acid residues at the 5'-side with 3 more TPRs. In situ hybridization revealed specific expression of tpis at a distinct differentiation stage of spermatogenic cells, indicating involvement of tpis in spermatogenesis. Chromosomal localization of the tpis gene was determined as 18.10 cM of chromosome 15. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.