Spacemaker Homolog (SPAM)

The deduced 3,145-amino acid protein has at least 21 EGF-like domains in its N-terminal region followed by 5 C-terminal LamG domains interspersed by further EGF repeats. PCR analysis of cDNAs from a variety of normal tissues and cell lines detected EYS only in retina and in a human retinoblastoma cell line. Immunohistochemical analysis of mature pig retina detected Eys in the photoreceptor layer.The protein encoded by this transcript comprised 3,165 amino acids and was predicted to contain a signal peptide for secretion into the extracellular environment, 28 EGF-like domains, and 5 laminin A G-like domains. BLAST analyses revealed that this gene was the true ortholog of the Drosophila 'eyes shut' (eys) gene, and the authors designated the human gene EYS. RT-PCR analysis of total RNA from various human tissues showed that the EYS gene is abundantly expressed in retina.