Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: SPINK4
Cytogenetic location: 9p13.3 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38) : 9:33,240,167-33,248,567 (from NCBI)
Metsis et al. (1992) cloned porcine Spink4, which they called Pec60. The deduced 86-amino acid preprotein was predicted to be cleaved following its N-terminal signal sequence to generate a mature secreted 60-amino acid peptide. Northern blot analysis of pig tissues detected highest expression in duodenum, bone marrow, and peripheral blood, with lower expression in spleen, and no expression in other tissues examined. A similar expression pattern was detected in rat tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis of pig and human duodenum revealed strong cytoplasmic PEC60 staining in goblet cells of the columnar epithelium. Pec60 was also detected as a secreted protein in pig plasma.
Using radioimmunoassays, Norberg et al. (2003) showed that Pec60 was expressed in all major rat brain regions, with highest concentration in frontal cortex and occipital cortex.
Hartz (2011) mapped the SPINK4 gene to chromosome 9p13.3 based on an alignment of the SPINK4 sequence (GenBank AF048700) with the genomic sequence (GRCh37).
Hartz, P. A. Personal Communication. Baltimore, Md. 4/20/2011.
Metsis, M., Cintra, A., Solfrini, V., Ernfors, P., Bortolotti, F., Morrasutti, D. G., Ostenson, C.-G., Efendic, S., Agerberth, B., Mutt, V., Persson, H., Fuxe, K. Molecular cloning of PEC-60 and expression of its mRNA and peptide in the gastrointestinal tract and immune system. J. Biol. Chem. 267: 19829-19832, 1992. [PubMed: 1400298]
Norberg, A., Gruber, S., Angelucci, F., Renlund, S., Wadensten, H., Efendic, S., Ostenson, C.-G., Jornvall, H., Sillard, R., Mathe, A. A. Identification of the bioactive peptide PEC-60 in brain. Cell. Molec. Life Sci. 60: 378-381, 2003. [PubMed: 12678500] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1007/s000180300030]