O-Sialoglycoprotein Endopeptidase (OSGEP)

The deduced 335-amino acid OSGEP protein has a predicted molecular mass of 36.4 kD and shares 29.7% sequence identity with the Pasteurella haemolytica A1 glycoprotease gcp, a neutral glycoprotease. Both protein sequences contain potential zinc-binding sites formed by 2 histidine residues. OSGEP shares 93.4% and 94.9% sequence identity with the mouse Osgep and rat PRSMG1/GCPL1 proteins, respectively. Northern blot analysis detected a 1.3-kb transcript in all human tissues examined, with highest expression in skeletal muscle, kidney, and liver.This segment also conferred in vitro promoter activity for the APEX gene, which lies immediately adjacent to the OSGEP gene in a 5-prime to 5-prime orientation, and matches the previous identification of the APEX promoter region.