The diversity and evolutionary relationships of the pregnancy-associated glycoproteins, an aspartic proteinase subfamily consisting of many trophoblast-expressed genes.

ABSTRACT: The pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are structurally related to the pepsins, thought to be restricted to the hooved (ungulate) mammals and characterized by being expressed specifically in the outer epithelial cell layer (chorion/trophectoderm) of the placenta. At least some PAGs are catalytically inactive as proteinases, although each appears to possess a cleft capable of binding peptides. By cloning expressed genes from ovine and bovine placental cDNA libraries, by Southern genomic blotting, by screening genomic libraries, and by using PCR to amplify portions of PAG genes from genomic DNA, we estimate that cattle, sheep, and most probably all ruminant Artiodactyla possess many, possibly 100 or more, PAG genes, many of which are placentally expressed. The PAGs are highly diverse

SUBMITTER: Xie S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC24220 | biostudies-literature | 1997 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature