Sequence of an epidermal growth factor-binding protein.

A cDNA clone has been isolated that corresponds to the entire translated region of the mRNA coding for the epidermal growth factor-binding protein type B. The complete nucleotide sequence and the predicted amino acid sequence of the protein were elucidated. The protein sequence was compared to some related serine proteases. This comparison supports the notion that several serine proteases suggested to be involved in the processing of precursors to polypeptide hormones and growth factors are closely related to each other. It appears that these proteases are descendants of a common ancestral gene and thus form a distinct subfamily among the serine proteases.