Abstract.
Human apolipoprotein(a), a risk factor for heart disease, has over 80% sequence identity to plasminogen. Plasminogen contains five distinct kringle domains plus a catalytic protease subunit. Human apo(a) consists of multiple copies (the number varies in individuals) of a domain resembling kringle 4, a single copy of a domain resembling kringle 5, and a protease-like domain. The recently cloned hedgehog version of apolipoprotein(a), which contains 31 nearly identical copies of plasminogen kringle 3 and lacks a protease domain, has prompted us to investigate the evolutionary history of the apolipoprotein (a) gene in mammals. Our analysis supports the nonfunctionality of the human apolipoprotein(a) protease domain, and a single (or multiple) duplication of plasminogen gene before mammal radiation, which originated apolipoprotein(a) in mammals.
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Received: 26 February 1996 / Accepted: 6 August 1996
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Lawn, R., Patthy, L., Pesole, G. et al. Apolipoprotein(a): A Puzzling Evolutionary Story . J Mol Evol 44 , 234 –236 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00013141
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00013141