A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease 29 (ADAM29)

The ADAM29 EST encodes a polypeptide with sequence similarity to the cysteine-rich region of ADAM20 . The first predicted ADAM29 protein has 820 amino acids and contains all of the domains characteristic of ADAMs. However, the zinc-binding motif in its metalloproteinase-like domain has a variant amino acid, suggesting that ADAM29 may be proteolytically inactive. The second form of ADAM29, which the authors called ADAM29-beta, has a deletion of 54 amino acids in its cytoplasmic domain compared to the first form, resulting in a protein with 767 amino acids. The third form of ADAM29, which the authors called ADAM29-gamma, has 786 amino acids and is identical to the first form except for a divergent C-terminal end. Northern blot analysis of a variety of human tissues detected an approximately 3.0-kb ADAM29 transcript only in testis.