Identification and Chromosome Assignment of a Human Gene Encoding a Novel Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase

We identified a novel phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase by screening human brain cDNA libraries with probes designed from the conserved kinase-domain sequence. Analysis of cDNAs indicated that two different forms of transcripts are present: one is the full-length form composed of 1,044 amino acid residues and the other is the short form that the N-terminal 216 amino acid residues including a putative p85 binding domain has been truncated (828 amino acid residues). Database search revealed the sequence of the full-length form to be identical to that recently registered by D. Chantry et al. (Accession No. U86453 in GenBank release, August 1997). Northern blot analysis showed this mRNA to be ubiquitously expressed in various tissues, with relatively higher expression was observed in spleen, thymus and leukocytes. Based on fluorescence in situ hybridization and PCR-based analyses with both human/rodent mono-chromosomal hybrid cell panels and radiation hybrid mapping panels, this gene was localized to chromosome region Ip36.2. This region is frequently lost in a variety of human malignancies, including neuroblastoma. The novel PI3K could be a candidate target of the Ip36 alteration that occurs in neuroendocrine tumors. Key words: PI3 kinase; Ip36.2; RT-PCR; neuroblastoma Phosphatidylinositol (PI) kinases are important regu- their in vitro substrate specificity and their likely mech