Programmed Cell Death Protein 7 (PDCD7)

PDCD7 encodes a protein with sequence similarity to a mouse protein originally identified in embryonic stem cells. In mouse T-cell lines, this protein appears to be related to glucocorticoid- and staurine-induced apoptotic pathways, and to be linked to ceramide-mediated signalling. These observations suggest that this gene product is involved in specific apoptotic processes in T-cells.The deduced 483-amino acid protein contains a proline-rich N terminus, followed by acidic regions with high contents of glutamic acid. The C-terminal half of Pdcd7 has several alpha-helix regions, evenly spaced leucines and hydrophobic amino acids, and an LxxLL transcriptional coactivator signature motif. Northern blot analysis detected expression primarily in testis, lymph node, and thymus.