Molecular characterisation of mouse and human TSSC6: Evidence that TSSC6 is a genuine member of the tetraspanin superfamily and is expressed specifically in haematopoietic organs

Abstract

Previous analyses of the murine and human TSSC6 (also known as Phemx) proteins were not carried out using the full length sequence. Using 5′-RACE and cDNA library screening, we identified an additional 5′ sequence for both the murine Tssc6 cDNA and its human homologue TSSC6. This novel sequence encodes a 5′ exon encoding an in frame, upstream start codon, an N-terminal cytoplasmic domain and a transmembrane domain. The deduced, and now full length, murine and human TSSC6 proteins contained four hydrophobic regions together with other features characteristic of the tetraspanin superfamily. Computational analyses of the full length sequences show that TSSC6 is a genuine, albeit relatively dive..