Blood Vessel Epicardial Substance (BVES)

Reese et al. (1999) cloned chick and mouse bves and showed by immunolocalization that bves protein is expressed in the progenitors of coronary artery smooth muscle cells as well as in differentiated smooth muscle cells. Using a probe obtained by low stringency PCR with mouse bves to screen a human heart cDNA library, Reese and Bader (1999) identified a cDNA for human BVES.

BVES encodes a deduced 334-amino acid protein that is 75% identical to the 357-amino acid chick bves. Sequence analysis predicts 3 transmembrane helices with an extracellular C terminus. Northern blot analysis revealed that expression of an approximately 5.5-kb BVES transcript is restricted to skeletal muscle and adult and fetal heart.