Tigger Transposable Element Derived Protein 3 (TIGD3)

The tigger subfamily of the pogo superfamilyproteins are related to DNA transposons found in fungi and nematodes, and more distantly to the Tc1 and mariner transposases. They are also very similar to the major mammalian centromere protein B. The exact function of this gene is not known. TIGD3 expression, a gene encoding a DNA-transposable element, correlated significantly with the blood or urinary measures of PCBs and with 1-OH-pyrene in urine. TIGD3 expression also appeared to correlate with serum levels of p53. Furthermore, a positive significant correlation was found between dioxins/furans and DGAT2 expression, a gene involved in triglyceride synthesis. The functions of these two genes as described in literature, however, do not indicate a relationship with environmental carcinogenesis.