Jun-ichi Kashiwakura and Toshiaki Kawakami
Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) encoded by TPT1 gene is a multifunctional protein involved in fundamental cellular processes of cell-cycle progression, proliferation, survival, malignant transformation, and regulation of pluripotency and cancer stem cells, as well as allergic inflammation. Here we report the cloning of four TCTP-related cDNAs from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These genes lack introns, suggesting that they are pseudogenes generated by retrotransposon-mediated integration of TPT1 gene. However, some of them are expressed at extremely low levels in limited tissues and hematopoietic cells. None of the four related proteins is expected to bind IgE, which is required for TCTP’s proallergic reactions. These results collectively suggest that they genes play negligible biologic roles in humans.
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