TMEM18

Transmembrane protein 18
Identifiers
SymbolsTMEM18 ; DKFZp434C1714
External IDsOMIM: 613220 MGI: 2387176 HomoloGene: 17675 GeneCards: TMEM18 Gene
Orthologs
SpeciesHumanMouse
Entrez129787211986
EnsemblENSG00000151353ENSMUSG00000043061
UniProtQ96B42Q3TUD9
RefSeq (mRNA)NM_152834NM_172049
RefSeq (protein)NP_690047NP_742046
Location (UCSC)Chr 2:
0.67 – 0.68 Mb		Chr 12:
30.58 – 30.59 Mb
PubMed search

Transmembrane protein 18 also known as TMEM18 is a protein which in humans is encoded by the TMEM18 gene.[1]

Function

Overexpression of the TMEM18 protein increases the migration capacity of neural stem cells while inactivation of TMEM18 results in almost complete loss of migration activity.[2]

The TMEM18 gene is ubiquitously expressed in both rodent and fly tissues, which suggests a basic cellular function. In the mouse brain, it is found in the majority of all cells, but is more abundant in neurons than other cell types.[3]

Clinical significance

Genetic variants in the proximity of the TMEM18 gene are associated with obesity.[3][4][5][6][7]

Evolutionary history

The TMEM18 gene has a long evolutionary history as it is present in both plants and animals.[3] The TMEM18 protein's amino acid sequence is well conserved, which suggests that it has retained its function since the divergence of human and plants. Interestingly, the gene seems to have been lost in two separate lineages, but is not found duplicated in any analyzed genomes. Hence, it is not essential for eukaryotic organisms, but there could be a selection against multiple copies of the TMEM18 gene.

References

  1. ↑ Strausberg RL, Feingold EA, Grouse LH, et al. (December 2002). "Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99 (26): 16899–903. doi:10.1073/pnas.242603899. PMC 139241. PMID 12477932.
  2. ↑ Jurvansuu J, Zhao Y, Leung DS, Boulaire J, Yu YH, Ahmed S, Wang S (June 2008). "Transmembrane protein 18 enhances the tropism of neural stem cells for glioma cells". Cancer Res. 68 (12): 4614–22. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-5291. PMID 18559506.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Almén MS, Jacobsson JA, Shaik JH, Olszewski PK, Cedernaes J, Alsiö J,Sreedharan S, Levine AS, Fredriksson R, Marcus C, Schiöth HB (April 2010). "The obesity gene, TMEM18, is of ancient origin, found in majority of neuronal cells in all major brain regions and associated with obesity in severely obese children". BMC Med. Genet. 11: 58. doi:10.1186/1471-2350-11-58. PMC 2858727. PMID 20380707.
  4. ↑ Thorleifsson G, Walters GB, Gudbjartsson DF, et al. (January 2009). "Genome-wide association yields new sequence variants at seven loci that associate with measures of obesity". Nat. Genet. 41 (1): 18–24. doi:10.1038/ng.274. PMID 19079260.
  5. ↑ Willer CJ, Speliotes EK, Loos RJ, et al. (January 2009). "Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation". Nat. Genet. 41 (1): 24–34. doi:10.1038/ng.287. PMC 2695662. PMID 19079261.
  6. ↑ Zhao J, Bradfield JP, Li M, et al. (May 2009). "The role of obesity-associated loci identified in genome wide association studies in the determination of pediatric BMI". Obesity (Silver Spring) 17 (12): 2254–7. doi:10.1038/oby.2009.159. PMC 2860782. PMID 19478790.
  7. ↑ Renström F, Payne F, Nordström A, Brito EC, Rolandsson O, Hallmans G, Barroso I, Nordström P, Franks PW (April 2009). "Replication and extension of genome-wide association study results for obesity in 4923 adults from northern Sweden". Hum. Mol. Genet. 18 (8): 1489–96. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddp041. PMC 2664142. PMID 19164386.

Further reading