Characterization and chromosomal mapping of a novel human gene, ANKHZN.

Ankhzn (ankyrin repeats hooked to a zinc finger motif) was originally isolated by means of the gene trap method, as a novel cytoplasmic protein on mouse embryonic stem cells. The Ankhzn protein is ubiquitously expressed in a spatiotemporal-specific manner and is located on endosomes. In the present study, we have cloned human ANKHZN cDNA by PCR using candidate EST clones exhibiting a high homology to mouse Ankhzn cDNA. The human ANKHZN cDNA encoded a 1166aa protein exhibiting 84.9% identity to the mouse one. The size of the transcript was found to be about 7kb on a Northern blot analysis, and ANKHZN mRNA was found to be ubiquitously expressed in human tissues on RT-PCR analysis. Western blot analysis showed that a 130kDa protein was detected at various levels in human tissues and also present in both membrane and soluble fractions obtained on subcellular fractionation. Human ANKHZN is a single copy gene consisting of predicted 25 exons in the human genome, and has been mapped to human chromosome 17p13 by radiation hybrid panel and fluorescence in-situ hybridization.