Tenomodulin (TNMD)

By searching an EST database for sequences similar to mouse Tem, followed by RACE of a human fetus cDNA library, Shukunami et al. (2001) cloned TEM. The deduced 317-amino acid protein contains an N-terminal transmembrane domain and a putative antiangiogenic domain with 8 cysteines.

TEM shares 96% amino acid identity with mouse Tem, and it shares 65% identity in a 65-amino acid C-terminal stretch with chondromodulin I (CHM1). Northern blot analysis of several mouse tissues detected a 1.4-kb transcript expressed specifically in skeletal muscle. In situ hybridization revealed mouse Tem expression in dense connective tissue, such as epimysium and tendon.