IlvB Like Protein (ILVBL)

Using a fragment isolated from a cosmid containing D19S841 at 19p13.1 to screen a human fetal brain cDNA library, Joutel et al. (1996) cloned a novel cDNA, which they called 209L8, encoding a deduced 632-amino acid protein that shows high homology with several bacterial, plant, and yeast enzymes that have in common the use of thiamine pyrophosphate as a cofactor.

The highest degree of similarity was found with 2 bacterial enzymes, the B isozyme of the large catalytic subunit of E. coli acetohydroxy-acid synthase (AHAS) and the oxalyl-coA decarboxylase of O. formigenes. Northern blot analysis detected an abundant 2.4-kb transcript in all tissues tested, with highest expression in heart, pancreas, and placenta.