Abstract
In the intermediate pituitary gland of Xenopus laevis, the expression levels of the prohormone pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) can be readily manipulated. When the animal is placed on a black background, the gene for POMC is actively transcribed, whereas on a white background the gene is virtually inactive. In this study, we characterized two genes whose transcript levels in the intermediate pituitary are regulated in coordination with that for POMC. One of these codes for a protein homologous to translocon-associated protein TRAP delta, a subunit of a transmembrane protein complex located at the site where nascent secretory proteins enter the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Both Xenopus and mice were found to express an alternatively spliced transcript that gives rise to a previously unknown version of the TRAP delta protein. The product of the second gene is a novel and highly conserved protein with structural similarity to glycoprotein gp25L, a constituent of another translocon-associated protein complex. A database search revealed the existence of a novel family of gp25L-related proteins whose members occur throughout the animal kingdom. Together, our data imply that (i) the group of ER proteins surrounding translocating polypeptide chains may be far more complex than previously expected, and (ii) a number of the accessory components of the translocon participate in early steps of prohormone biosynthesis.