Dmx Like Protein 1 (DMXL1)

By EST database searching for sequences showing homology to Drosophila DmX and by use of primers designed for RT-PCR from human placental mRNA, Kraemer et al. (2000) cloned a nearly full-length homolog, which they designated DMX-like-1. The DMXL1 cDNA encodes a deduced 3,027-amino acid protein with a calculated mass of approximately 338 kD. The protein belongs to the superfamily of WD repeat proteins, most of which have regulatory functions, and contains at least 28 WD repeat units. DMXL1 shows a high level of evolutionary conservation. By searching EST databases with the complete cDNA sequence as query, Kraemer et al. (2000) found that DMXL1 is expressed in a variety of tissues, including bone, breast, eye, foreskin, heart, parathyroid, small intestine, testis, tonsils, uterus, and whole embryo.