| abstract |
(57) Abstract A novel family of cell surface snake-like transmembrane antigens has been described. Two proteins in this family are exclusively or preferentially expressed in prostate and prostate cancer, and thus members of this family are termed "STEAP" (six transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate). Four specific human STEAPs have been described and characterized herein. Human STEAP shows a high degree of structural conservation within STEAP, but does not show significant structural homology to any known human protein. Structurally, STEAP-1 is a 339 amino acid protein, characterized by six transmembrane domains and a molecular topology of intracellular N- and C-termini, with three extracellular loops and Suggests folding into two intracellular loops. |