CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL MEMBER OF THE HUMAN MAD GENE FAMILY (MADH6)

MAD (mothers against decapentaplegic)-related proteins (MADRs) are int racellular components that play critical roles in signal-transduction pathways involving the transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) supe rfamily, Some Mad genes are candidates for tumor-suppressor functions, From a human fetal brain cDNA library we have isolated a novel Mad-re lated gene. Two alternatively transcribed mRNAs encode deduced 430- an d 467-amino-acid peptides that showed high levels of similarity to MAD R1/Smad1/hMAD1 (about 80% identity at the amino acid level), This gene , which we designated. MADH6, resides on 13q12-q14 between BRCA2 and R E, a region that frequently displays loss of heterozygosity in breast, liver, and prostate cancers. (C) 1997 Academic Press.