Vanin 3 (VNN3)

By EST database analysis, Granjeaud et al. (1999) identified a novel human VNN gene, VNN3. Martin et al. (2001) cloned a full-length VNN3 cDNA encoding a deduced 501-amino acid protein with strong similarity to the mouse vnn3 molecule. Both the mouse and human proteins lack the GPI-anchor motif found in VNN1 and VNN2. Northern blot analysis detected a 1.8-kb VNN3 mRNA in human liver, placenta, and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). A 3.8-kb mRNA was observed in PBLs. Martin et al. (2001) found that all vanin proteins are ectoenzymes with pantetheinase activity. They showed that mouse vanin-3 and, by analogy, human VNN3 are secreted molecules.Martin et al. (2001) determined that the human VNN1, VNN2, and VNN3 genes, as well as the mouse vnn1 and vnn3 genes, all contain 7 exons.