Glial Cells Missing Homolog 1 (GCM1)

GCM1 encodes a DNA-binding protein with a gcm-motif (glial cell missing motif). The encoded protein is a homolog of the Drosophila glial cells missing gene (gcm). This protein binds to the GCM-motif (A/G)CCCGCAT, a novel sequence among known targets of DNA-binding proteins. The N-terminal DNA-binding domain confers the unique DNA-binding activity of this protein.

The predicted GCMA protein contains 436 amino acids. The mammalian proteins share a conserved N-terminal region of approximately 150 amino acids that corresponds to the DNA-binding domain of gcm. The gcm motif of GCMA exhibited specific DNA-binding activity similar to that of gcm.