A novel regucalcin gene promoter region-related protein: comparison of nucleotide and amino acid sequences in vertebrate species

The molecular cloning and sequencing of the cDNA coding for a novel regucalcin gene promoter region-related protein (RGPR-p117) from bovine, rabbit and chicken livers was investigated using rapid amplification of cDNA endo (RACE) method. Their nucleotide and amino acid sequences were compared with human, rat and mouse sequences published previously. RGPR-p117 of bovine, rabbit and chicken livers consisted of 1052, 1045, and 929 amino acid residues with calculated molecular mass of 117, 114, and 103 kDa, and estimated pI of 5.64, 5.84, and 5.59, respectively. Comparison analysis revealed that the nucleotide sequences of RGPR-p117 from mammalian species were highly-conserved in their coding region, and the homologies were at least 72.9%. The RGPR-p117 proteins in mammalian species consisted of 1045-1060 amino acids, and had 63.1-90.2% identity. Meanwhile, the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of chicken RGPR-p117 had at least 36.4 and 43.7% identities, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RGPR-p117 in six vertebrates appears to form a single cluster. Mammalian RGPR-p117 conserved a leucine zipper motif. Moreover, the analysis for subcellular localization of RGPR-p117 from six vertebrates showed the probability of nuclear localization >52.2%; the nuclear localization in rat and mouse was 78.3%. This study demonstrates a great conservation of RGPR-p117 genes throughout evolution.