Transmembrane Protein 159 (TMEM159)

By PCR of a human heart cDNA library, Yu et al. (2004) cloned TMEM159, which they called promethin. The deduced 161-amino acid protein shares 70% identity with mouse promethin. Northern blot analysis revealed high expression of a 1.8-kb transcript in heart and skeletal muscle, with weak expression in kidney, small intestine, lung, and liver. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized promethin in the cytosol of transfected human cell lines.

Using microarray analysis, Yu et al. (2004) found that promethin was among the genes upregulated in a mouse model of hepatic steatosis caused by Pparg overexpression on a Ppara -/- background. Promethin expression was not upregulated in hepatic steatosis induced by fasting or choline deficiency.