GENOMIC IMPRINTING AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION OF THE HUMAN MEST GENE

We have isolated a human homologue (MEST) of the mouse mesoderm-specif ic transcript (Mest) gene that shares about 70% nucleotide sequence ho mology. Northern blot analysis showed that the MEST gene was expressed in all major fetal organs and tissues so far examined, i.e., amnion, brain, heart, lung, stomach, gut, adrenal, kidney, muscle, and liver, which does not contradict with mesoderm-specific expression. MEST was abundantly expressed in hydatidiform moles of androgenetic origin, whe reas it was barely detectable in dermoid cysts of parthenogenetic orig in. Thus, it seems likely that the MEST gene, mapped to 7q32 by fluore scence in situ hybridization, is maternally repressed as the mouse hom ologue. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.