Organization and chromosomal assignment of two human PAG gene loci: PAGA encoding a functional gene and PAGB a processed pseudogene.

A cDNA, designated PAG, was recently isolated by differential cloning between an untransformed and a ras-transformed human mammary cell line. Higher levels of expression were found to be associated with cell proliferation. The absence in the pag protein of known consensus sequence, as well as its close relationship with a gene product involved in the differentiation of a mouse erythroleukemia cell line, has suggested that the PAG gene belongs to a family of genes associated with cell proliferation and differentiation. To further characterize this gene, a physical map has been established from a human genomic cosmid library. The PAG gene spans 13 kb of DNA and contains six exons. The promoter region is GC-rich and contains a TFIID motif located 25 nucleotides upstream of the potential site for initiation of transcription and potential recognition sites for a variety of trans-acting factors. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, the PAG gene was mapped to human chromosome band 1p34.1. A pseudogene was also isolated, sequenced, and mapped to human chromosome band 9p22.