Receptor Accessory Protein 2 (REEP2)

Transport of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to the cell surface membrane is critical for receptor-ligand recognition. However, mammalian GPCR odorant receptors (ORs), when heterologously expressed in cells, are poorly expressed on the cell surface. Saito et al. (2004) identified mouse and human REEP1. They searched databases for homologs of REEP1 and identified several other REEP genes, including REEP2. In situ hybridization of mouse olfactory epithelium revealed that, unlike Reep1, Reep2 was not expressed in olfactory neurons.The deduced 152-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of about 17 kD. Northern blot analysis detected a transcript of about 2.2 kb. C5ORF19 expression was abundant in brain, heart, and skeletal muscle, low in placenta, kidney, and pancreas, and absent in lung and liver.