Phosphodiesterase 7B (PDE7B)

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) regulate intracellular levels of cAMP and cGMP, cyclic nucleotides that play important roles as second messengers in multiple physiologic processes. PDE7B belongs to the large superfamily of PDEs, which can be distinguished by their structure, tissue expression, localization, substrate specificity, regulation, and sensitivity to PDE inhibitors.The deduced 450-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 51.8 kD. It shares 67.1% identity with human PDE7A in the catalytic region. Northern blot analysis detected a major 6.2-kb transcript and a minor 3.1-kb transcript in most tissues examined, with highest expression in caudate nucleus, heart, putamen, and occipital pole, followed by skeletal muscle and pancreas. PDE7B was expressed in the cytosol of transfected COS-7 cells.