Insulin Like Growth Factor 2, Antisense (IGF2AS)

Mouse Igf2as is an imprinted gene antisense to the Igf2 gene. By searching a database for sequences similar to mouse Igf2as, followed by PCR of a chorionic villi cDNA library and screening a fetal kidney cDNA library, Okutsu et al. (2000) cloned human IGF2AS. Unlike mouse Igf2as, which appears to be noncoding, human IGF2AS has an open reading frame encoding a deduced 273-amino acid protein. Human IGF2AS also lacks a central tandem repeat and has a different putative transcriptional start site compared with mouse Igf2as. Okutsu et al. demonstrated that, like mouse Igf2as, human IGF2AS is imprinted and expressed from the paternal allele. They found that IGF2AS expression was high in fetal kidney at 14 and 19 weeks""" gestation and in chorionic villi at 4 to 10 weeks""" gestation.