Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: SCRG1
Cytogenetic location: 4q34.1 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38) : 4:173,384,701-173,519,144 (from NCBI)
To identify genes associated with or responsible for the neurodegenerative changes observed in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, Dandoy-Dron et al. (1998) analyzed gene expression in scrapie-infected mouse brain using mRNA differential display. They found that Scrg1 (scrapie-responsive gene 1) and 7 other genes were expressed at higher levels in the brains of scrapie-infected animals. By searching an EST database, Dron et al. (1998) identified cDNAs encoding human SCRG1. The predicted 98-amino acid human protein contains a 20-amino acid signal peptide. The authors corrected the sequence of mouse Scrg1 reported by Dandoy-Dron et al. (1998) and noted that the human and mouse SCRG1 proteins share 83% sequence identity. Northern blot analysis revealed that SCRG1 is expressed as a 0.7-kb mRNA and a much weaker 2.6-kb mRNA in normal human brain. The mRNA was found to be 3 times more abundant in the brain of a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD; 123400). Using RNA dot blots, Dandoy-Dron et al. (1998) found that SCRG1 is expressed abundantly in the central nervous system of human adult, but not at all in fetal brain. High levels of SCRG1 transcripts were also observed in testis and aorta.
Using semiquantitative RT-PCR, Ochi et al. (2006) found that expression of SCRG1 was higher in human spinal cord and articular cartilage than in brain, heart, and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Fluorescence-tagged SCRG1 was expressed in cytoplasmic granules in transfected C3H10T1/2 mouse mesenchymal cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of human adult articular chondrocytes showed localization of SCRG1 in pericellular matrix, especially in lacunae.
Dron et al. (1998) reported that mapping using EST cDNA related to SCRG1 indicated that the human gene was located on chromosome 4q31-q32.
Ochi et al. (2006) found that dexamethasone induced SCRG1 expression in hMSCs via activation of glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1; 138040). SCRG1 expression suppressed proliferation in hMSCs and stimulated chondrogenesis in C3H10T1/2 cells. SCRG1 did not stimulate differentiation in the absence of BMP2 (112261), but it enhanced BMP2-dependent chondrogenesis.
Dandoy-Dron, F., Guillo, F., Benboudjema, L., Deslys, J.-P., Lasmezas, C., Dormont, D., Tovey, M. G., Dron, M. Gene expression in scrapie: cloning of a new scrapie-responsive gene and the identification of increased levels of seven other mRNA transcripts. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 7691-7697, 1998. [PubMed: 9516475] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.273.13.7691]
Dron, M., Dandoy-Dron, F., Guillo, F., Benboudjema, L., Hauw, J.-J., Lebon, P., Dormont, D., Tovey, M. G. Characterization of the human analogue of a scrapie-responsive gene. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 18015-18018, 1998. [PubMed: 9660755] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.273.29.18015]
Ochi, K., Derfoul, A., Tuan, R. S. A predominantly articular cartilage-associated gene, SCRG1, is induced by glucocorticoid and stimulates chondrogenesis in vitro. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14: 30-38, 2006. [PubMed: 16188469] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2005.07.015]