Leucine Carboxyl Methyltransferase 2 (LCMT2)

Leucine Carboxyl Methyltransferase 2 belongs to the methyltransferase superfamily and acts as a G(1)/S and G(2)/M phase checkpoint regulator. It has been hypothesized that cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress and transforming growth factor beta 1 may inhibit cellular proliferation by modulating the expression of this protein.

By sequencing clones obtained from a brain cDNA library, Nagase et al. (1998) cloned LCMT2, which they designated KIAA0547. The transcript contains several repetitive elements in its 3-prime UTR, and the deduced protein contains 686 amino acids. RT-PCR detected LCMT2 expression in kidney only. In vitro-translated LCMT3 had an apparent molecular mass of 61 kD by SDS-PAGE.