Isolation, tissue distribution, and chromosomal localization of a novel testis-specific human four-transmembrane gene related to CD20 and FcεRI-β

CD20 and the β subunit of the high affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRIβ) are related four-transmembrane molecules that are expressed on the surface of hematopoietic cells and play crucial roles in signal transduction. Herein, we report the identification and characterization of a human gene, TETM4, that encodes a novel four-transmembrane protein related to CD20 and FcεRIβ. The predicted TETM4 protein is 200 amino acids and contains four putative transmembrane regions, N- and C-terminal cytoplasmic domains, and three inter-transmembrane loop regions. TETM4 shows 31.0 and 23.2% overall identity with CD20 and FcεRIβ respectively, with the highest identity in the transmembrane regions, whereas the N- and C-termini and inter-transmembrane loops are more divergent. Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis suggest that TETM4 mRNA has a highly restricted tissue distribution, being expressed selectively in the testis. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization and radiation hybrid analysis, the TETM4 gene has been localized to chromosome 11q12. The genes for CD20 and FcεRIβ have also been mapped to the same region of chromosome 11 (11q12-13.1), suggesting that these genes have evolved by duplication to form a family of four-transmembrane genes. TETM4 is the first nonhematopoietic member of the CD20/FcεRIβ family, and like its hematopoietic-specific relatives, it may be involved in signal transduction as a component of a multimeric receptor complex.