Characterization of the apolipoprotein(a) gene.

Five homologous genes have been isolated and characterized and found to belong to the plasminogen-apolipoprotein(a) gene family. One of these genes is the true apolipoprotein(a) gene because it has typical regulatory elements and exons coding for kringle 4 repeats. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that each of 11 types of the kringle 4 repeats is encoded by two exons and that the splice junctions of the exons coding for the (pseudo)serine protease domain of apo(a) were also located in exactly the same positions as those of plasminogen.