Scientific background: |
DDT, D-dopachrome tautomerization, converts D-dopachrome into 5,6-dihydroxyindole. Northern blot analysis revealed that DDT was expressed as a 0.6-kb mRNA in all tissues tested, with the strongest expression in liver. The DDT gene in human and mouse is identical in exon structure to the MIF gene. Both genes have 2 introns that are located at equivalent positions, relative to a 2-fold repeat in protein structure.the genes for DDT and MIF are closely linked on human chromosome 22 and mouse chromosome 10. |
References: |
1. Esumi, N., Budarf, M., Ciccarelli, L., Sellinger, B., Kozak, C. A., Wistow, G.Conserved gene structure and genomic linkage for D-dopachrome tautomerase (DDT) and MIF.Mammalian Genome 9: 753-757, 1998.
2. Nishihira, J., Fujinaga, M., Kuriyama, T., Suzuki, M., Sugimoto, H., Nakagawa, A., Tanaka, I., Sakai, M.Molecular cloning of human D-dopachrome tautomerase cDNA: N-terminal proline is essential for enzyme activation.Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 243: 538-544, 1998. |