Olfactomedin Like Protein 3 (OLFML3)

The deduced 406-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 44 kD. It has an N-terminal signal peptide, followed by a coiled-coil domain and a large C-terminal olfactomedin-like domain made up primarily of beta strands. OLF44 also has 2 potential N-glycosylation sites. Northern blot analysis detected highest expression of a 1.8-kb OLF44 transcript in placenta. Expression was moderate in liver and heart, weak in skeletal muscle, small intestine, lung, and kidney, and very week in colon, thymus, spleen, and brain. No expression was detected in peripheral blood leukocytes. Smaller secondary transcripts were weakly expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, and placenta. Transfected COS-7 cells secreted a glycosylated human OLF44 protein into the culture medium.