Members of a novel gene family, Gsdm, are expressed exclusively in the epithelium of the skin and gastrointestinal tract in a highly tissue-specific manner.

Gasdermin (Gsdm) was originally identified as a candidate causative gene for several mouse skin mutants. Several Gsdm-related genes sharing a protein domain with DFNA5, the causative gene of human nonsyndromic hearing loss, have been found in the mouse and human genomes, and this group is referred to as the DFNA5-Gasdermin domain family. However, our current comparative genomic analysis identified several novel motifs distinct from the previously reported domain in the Gsdm-related genes. We also identified three new Gsdm genes clustered on mouse chromosome 15. We named these genes collectively the Gsdm family. Extensive expression analysis revealed exclusive expression of Gsdm family genes in the epithelium of the skin and gastrointestinal tract in a highly tissue-specific manner. Further database searching revealed the presence of other related genes with a similar N-terminal motif. These results suggest that the Gsdm family and related genes have evolved divergent epithelial expression profiles.