Otospiralin (OTOS)

Otospiralin is synthesized by nonsensory cells (fibrocytes) of the inner ear, and downregulation of otospiralin in guinea pigs leads to deafness.By searching for homologs of rat Otosp, Lavigne-Rebillard et al. (2003) identified genomic fragments and ESTs containing OTOSP. The deduced 89-amino acid protein contains a signal peptide. The authors also identified an in-frame alternative start site that would result in a protein of 114 amino acids.Lavigne-Rebillard et al. (2003) determined that the OTOSP gene contains 4 exons. Exon 1 is untranslated and contains a TATAAA box.By FISH and radiation hybrid analysis, Lavigne-Rebillard et al. (2003) mapped the OTOSP gene to chromosome 2q37.3.