Growth Hormone Inducible Transmembrane Protein (GHITM)

Growth hormone-inducible transmembrane protein is a protein encoded by the GHITM gene. Ghitm is an ortholog of the Bombyx mori prothoracic gland-derived receptor (Pgdr) that is ubiquitously expressed in mammalian cells and requires an N-terminal signal sequence for expression . The pattern of Ghitm expression suggested that once Ghitm mRNA was expressed in the putative brain region of mouse embryo, Ghitm-expressing cells spread ubiquitously throughout all tissues during embryonic development. In addition, Western blot analyses demonstrated that cleavage of the N-terminal portion in GHITM appears to regulate the expression level, suggesting that cleavage is essential for the proper expression of GHITM.