Chitinase, Acidic (CHIA)

The mouse AMCase protein is 52% identical to CHIT1. By screening an EST database using mouse AMCase as the probe, followed by PCR using degenerate primers directed against members of the chitinase family, the authors obtained a full-length cDNA encoding human AMCase. The deduced 475-amino acid AMCase protein contains a 21-amino acid signal peptide and is 82% identical to the mouse protein.

Sequence analysis predicted that the TSA1902L protein has 368 amino acids and is hydrophilic. It lacks a secretory leader sequence but contains an active chitinase catalytic domain, which has 4 conserved acidic residues, and a C-terminal chitin-binding domain, which is preceded by a serine/glycine-rich tract that is a potential O-linked glycosylation site.