A pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein, a CEA gene family member, expressed in a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60: structures of protein, mRNA and gene.

Both genomic and cDNA clones encoding a precursor for a pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PS beta G) belonging to the CEA family, expressed in a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60, have been isolated and the entire primary structure of the precursor is deduced. The 335-AA precursor has a 34-AA signal peptide followed by domains of N, IIA, IIB and C, which are encoded by separate exons. The genomic sequence contains extra exons IA and IB between exons N and IIA. Apparently, exon IA is excluded from the mRNA by alternative splicing while IB is a pseudo-exon having a stop codon formed by a deletion of dinucleotide in the middle of the sequence. This provides another mechanism to render exon IB abortive and is different from that we reported for another PS beta G (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. (1988) 156, 68-77).