Family With Sequence Similarity 161, Member A (FAM161A)

FAM161A transcript encodes a deduced 660-amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 76 kD. Alternative splicing produces a minor transcript containing an additional exon, resulting in a protein with 56 additional residues. Quantitative RT-PCR detected both FAM161A variants in all tissues examined. The short variant showed highest expression in testis, followed by retina, heart, and liver. The long variant showed highest expression in retina, followed by testis, liver, heart, and muscle. Expression in mouse retina was developmentally regulated, with minimal expression in the neural basal layer at postnatal day 0 and expression in all cell bodies of the outer nuclear layer at postnatal day 10. In adult retina, Fam161a was present in the inner segments, but not the outer segments, of photoreceptors, and it was expressed in outer plexiform layer.