Testis/Prostate/Placenta Expressed Protein (TEPP)

By identifying Unigene clusters with testis-specific expression, followed by RT-PCR and dot-blot analyses of gene expression patterns, Bera et al. (2003) identified a gene with specific expression in testis, prostate, and placenta, which they named testis-prostate-placenta-expressed protein (TEPP). Using RACE PCR, they cloned a full-length TEPP cDNA. TEPP encodes a deduced 271-amino acid protein with a signal peptide between amino acids 19 and 20. A TEPP splice variant with 27 additional amino acids results from an extra 81 bp on the 5-prime end of exon 6. The TEPP protein shares 84%, 79%, and 75% sequence identity with the pig, mouse, and rat orthologs, respectively. Northern blot analysis of human tissues detected expression of a 1.0-kb TEPP transcript specifically in testis.