A bioinformatics approach to identifying tail-anchored proteins in the human genome

Traffic. 2007 Dec;8(12):1687-1694. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2007.00661.x. Epub 2007 Oct 17.

Abstract

Intracellular proteins with a carboxy-terminal transmembrane domain and the amino-terminus oriented toward the cytosol are known as 'tail-anchored' proteins. Tail-anchored proteins have been of considerable interest because several important classes of proteins, including the vesicle-targeting/fusion proteins known as SNAREs and the apoptosis-related proteins of the Bcl-2 family, among others, utilize this unique membrane-anchoring motif. Here, we use a bioinformatic technique to develop a comprehensive list of potentially tail-anchored proteins in the human genome. Our final list contains 411 entries derived from 325 unique genes. We also analyzed both known and predicted tail-anchored proteins with respect to the amino acid composition of the transmembrane segments. This analysis revealed a distinctive composition of the membrane anchor in SNARE proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / chemistry
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Computational Biology / methods*
  • Cytosol / metabolism
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / metabolism
  • Genome, Human*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Membranes / metabolism
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Proteomics / methods
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2