Gene_locus Report for: human-SERHL2

The National Institutes of Health's Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) project was designed to generate and sequence a publicly accessible cDNA resource containing a complete open reading frame (ORF) for every human and mouse gene. The project initially used a random strategy to select clones from a large number of cDNA libraries from diverse tissues. Candidate clones were chosen based on 5'-EST sequences, and then fully sequenced to high accuracy and analyzed by algorithms developed for this project. Currently, more than 11,000 human and 10,000 mouse genes are represented in MGC by at least one clone with a full ORF. The random selection approach is now reaching a saturation point, and a transition to protocols targeted at the missing transcripts is now required to complete the mouse and human collections. Comparison of the sequence of the MGC clones to reference genome sequences reveals that most cDNA clones are of very high sequence quality, although it is likely that some cDNAs may carry missense variants as a consequence of experimental artifact, such as PCR, cloning, or reverse transcriptase errors. Recently, a rat cDNA component was added to the project, and ongoing frog (Xenopus) and zebrafish (Danio) cDNA projects were expanded to take advantage of the high-throughput MGC pipeline.

In response to extended periods of stretch, skeletal muscle typically exhibits cell hypertrophy associated with sustained increases in mRNA and protein synthesis. Several soluble hypertrophic agonists have been identified, yet relatively little is known as to how mechanical load is converted into intracellular signals regulating gene expression or how increased cell size is maintained. In skeletal muscle, hypertrophy is generally regarded as a beneficial adaptive response to increased workload. In some cases, however, hypertrophy can be detrimental as seen in long-term cardiac hypertrophy. Skeletal muscle wasting (atrophy) is a feature of both inherited and acquired muscle disease and normal aging. Elucidating the molecular regulation of cell size is a fundamental step toward comprehending the complex molecular systems underlying muscle hypertrophy and atrophy. Subtractive hybridization between passively stretched and control murine skeletal muscle tissue identified an mRNA that undergoes increased expression in response to passive stretch. Encoded within the mRNA is an open reading frame of 311 amino acids containing a highly conserved type 1 peroxisomal targeting signal and a serine lipase active center. The sequence shows identity to a family of serine hydrolases and thus is named serine hydrolase-like (Serhl). The predicted three-dimensional structure displays a core alpha/beta-hydrolase fold and catalytic triad characteristic of several hydrolytic enzymes. Endogenous Serhl protein immunolocalizes to perinuclear vesicles as does Serhl-FLAG fusion protein transiently expressed in muscle cells in vitro. Overexpression of Serhl-FLAG has no effect on muscle cell phenotype in vitro. Serhl's expression patterns and its response to passive stretch suggest that it may play a role in normal peroxisome function and skeletal muscle growth in response to mechanical stimuli.

Knowledge of the complete genomic DNA sequence of an organism allows a systematic approach to defining its genetic components. The genomic sequence provides access to the complete structures of all genes, including those without known function, their control elements, and, by inference, the proteins they encode, as well as all other biologically important sequences. Furthermore, the sequence is a rich and permanent source of information for the design of further biological studies of the organism and for the study of evolution through cross-species sequence comparison. The power of this approach has been amply demonstrated by the determination of the sequences of a number of microbial and model organisms. The next step is to obtain the complete sequence of the entire human genome. Here we report the sequence of the euchromatic part of human chromosome 22. The sequence obtained consists of 12 contiguous segments spanning 33.4 megabases, contains at least 545 genes and 134 pseudogenes, and provides the first view of the complex chromosomal landscapes that will be found in the rest of the genome.

We have developed a systematic approach to generating cDNA clones containing full-length open reading frames (ORFs), exploiting knowledge of gene structure from genomic sequence. Each ORF was amplified by PCR from a pool of primary cDNAs, cloned and confirmed by sequencing. We obtained clones representing 70% of genes on human chromosome 22, whereas searching available cDNA clone collections found at best 48% from a single collection and 60% for all collections combined.

The National Institutes of Health's Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) project was designed to generate and sequence a publicly accessible cDNA resource containing a complete open reading frame (ORF) for every human and mouse gene. The project initially used a random strategy to select clones from a large number of cDNA libraries from diverse tissues. Candidate clones were chosen based on 5'-EST sequences, and then fully sequenced to high accuracy and analyzed by algorithms developed for this project. Currently, more than 11,000 human and 10,000 mouse genes are represented in MGC by at least one clone with a full ORF. The random selection approach is now reaching a saturation point, and a transition to protocols targeted at the missing transcripts is now required to complete the mouse and human collections. Comparison of the sequence of the MGC clones to reference genome sequences reveals that most cDNA clones are of very high sequence quality, although it is likely that some cDNAs may carry missense variants as a consequence of experimental artifact, such as PCR, cloning, or reverse transcriptase errors. Recently, a rat cDNA component was added to the project, and ongoing frog (Xenopus) and zebrafish (Danio) cDNA projects were expanded to take advantage of the high-throughput MGC pipeline.

In response to extended periods of stretch, skeletal muscle typically exhibits cell hypertrophy associated with sustained increases in mRNA and protein synthesis. Several soluble hypertrophic agonists have been identified, yet relatively little is known as to how mechanical load is converted into intracellular signals regulating gene expression or how increased cell size is maintained. In skeletal muscle, hypertrophy is generally regarded as a beneficial adaptive response to increased workload. In some cases, however, hypertrophy can be detrimental as seen in long-term cardiac hypertrophy. Skeletal muscle wasting (atrophy) is a feature of both inherited and acquired muscle disease and normal aging. Elucidating the molecular regulation of cell size is a fundamental step toward comprehending the complex molecular systems underlying muscle hypertrophy and atrophy. Subtractive hybridization between passively stretched and control murine skeletal muscle tissue identified an mRNA that undergoes increased expression in response to passive stretch. Encoded within the mRNA is an open reading frame of 311 amino acids containing a highly conserved type 1 peroxisomal targeting signal and a serine lipase active center. The sequence shows identity to a family of serine hydrolases and thus is named serine hydrolase-like (Serhl). The predicted three-dimensional structure displays a core alpha/beta-hydrolase fold and catalytic triad characteristic of several hydrolytic enzymes. Endogenous Serhl protein immunolocalizes to perinuclear vesicles as does Serhl-FLAG fusion protein transiently expressed in muscle cells in vitro. Overexpression of Serhl-FLAG has no effect on muscle cell phenotype in vitro. Serhl's expression patterns and its response to passive stretch suggest that it may play a role in normal peroxisome function and skeletal muscle growth in response to mechanical stimuli.

Knowledge of the complete genomic DNA sequence of an organism allows a systematic approach to defining its genetic components. The genomic sequence provides access to the complete structures of all genes, including those without known function, their control elements, and, by inference, the proteins they encode, as well as all other biologically important sequences. Furthermore, the sequence is a rich and permanent source of information for the design of further biological studies of the organism and for the study of evolution through cross-species sequence comparison. The power of this approach has been amply demonstrated by the determination of the sequences of a number of microbial and model organisms. The next step is to obtain the complete sequence of the entire human genome. Here we report the sequence of the euchromatic part of human chromosome 22. The sequence obtained consists of 12 contiguous segments spanning 33.4 megabases, contains at least 545 genes and 134 pseudogenes, and provides the first view of the complex chromosomal landscapes that will be found in the rest of the genome.