CLONING OF A CDNA-ENCODING RAT INTESTINAL 15 KDA PROTEIN AND ITS TISSUE DISTRIBUTION

A cDNA encoding rat intestinal 15 kDa protein was isolated and sequenced from a rat ileum-specific cDNA library. This cDNA was found to contain an open reading frame of 384 nucleotides as well as 5′ (27 nucleotides) and 3′ (46 nucleotides) non-coding regions. The deduced sequence of 127 amino acids was identical to that of rat I-15P which was purified from rat intestinal epithelium. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame exhibited 79% identity to that of the porcine gastrotropin. Northern blot analysis indicated that the same size of transcript as that of the ileum was detected in the ovary, suggesting that I-15P or a homologous protein might be involved in the metabolism of steroids in steroid hormone-producing tissues. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.