Down Syndrome Critical Region Gene 4 (DSCR4)

The deduced DSCR4 protein contains 118 amino acids. RT-PCR detected DSCR4 expression in placenta, but not in human liver, heart, or brain. Northern blot analysis showed major 1.1- and minor 2.0-kb DSCR4 transcripts in placenta, but not in any of the other tissues tested.RT-PCR followed by Southern blot analysis detected 2 DSCR4 transcripts and 4 DSCR8 transcripts in prostate, skeletal muscle, testis, and placenta. Robust expression of DSCR4 alone was detected in thymus, and low levels of DSCR8 alone were detected in brain, kidney, and bone marrow. Both DSCR4 and DSCR8 transcripts were also detected in placenta and testicular teratoma cell lines, but not in HeLa cells. DSCR4 and DSCR8 appeared to evolve exclusively in primates, although DSCR4 was not found in Old World monkeys. The bidirectional promoter also appeared to be highly conserved in primates.