THE UBIQUITIN-HOMOLOGY GENE PIC1 - CHARACTERIZATION OF MOUSE (PIC1) AND HUMAN (UBL1) GENES AND PSEUDOGENES

The human ubiquitin-homology domain protein PIC1 interacts with the ac ute promyelocytic leukemia protein PML, and both proteins form part of the large, nuclear, multiprotein complexes known as PML nuclear bodie s. The normal punctate immunohistochemical staining pattern of these c omplexes is disrupted by viral infection or interferon treatment and i n blast cells from patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. We have characterized the murine homologue of PIC1 and have found that the pr edicted amino acid sequences of the mouse and human proteins are ident ical. High levels of Pic1 mRNA were detected in a range of mouse tissu es. Pic1 genomic clones were isolated, and the organization of the gen e was determined. Two processed Pic1 pseudogenes were also isolated an d characterized. Through FISH, the chromosomal localizations of the mo use Pic1 gene and the two pseudogenes were determined. Human PIC1 (HGM W-approved symbol UBL1)-related sequences were isolated from human gen omic DNA and were shown to represent processed pseudogenes. The role o f PIC1 in a variety of cellular processes is discussed. (C) 1998 Acade mic Press.