Translocase Of Inner Mitochondrial Membrane 17B (TIMM17B)

TIMM17B is 76% identical to TIMM17A, differing primarily in the C terminus. Northern blot analysis revealed ubiquitous expression of a 0.95-kb TIMM17B transcript that is most abundant in heart and skeletal muscle, intermediate in brain, and weak in pancreas, placenta, kidney, and liver. Western blot analysis showed that TIMM17B colocalizes with the inner membrane fraction of mitochondria as a 17-kD protein. TIMM17B and TIMM17A contain 7 exons plus 1 exon coding entirely for the 5-prime UTR. While the exon lengths are highly conserved, the gene sizes differ markedly by variations in intron lengths. The preserved overall gene structure suggested that one of the TIMM17 genes originated from the other by duplication, with subsequent translocation of the gene copy to another chromosome.