Neuroendocrine Differentiation Factor (NEDF)

VPS24 is a component of ESCRT-III (endosomal sorting complex required for transport III) and is involved in multivesicular body biogenesis . The deduced 223-amino acid protein contains a putative nuclear localization signal near its N terminus. Northern blot analysis detected variable expression of 1.1-, 3.4-, and 8.5-kb VPS24 transcripts in all tissues examined. RT-PCR, but not Northern blot analysis, detected VPS24 in human prostate and mammary cell lines. Western blot analysis showed VPS24 as a doublet of about 29 and 31 kD. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized VPS24 in a punctate nuclear distribution.The deduced protein contains a basic N-terminal half and an acidic C-terminal half, and both halves contain coiled-coil regions.