Glutamate Carboxypeptidase III (GCPIII)

The deduced 442-amino acid PSMAL protein has a calculated molecular mass of 46 kD, and it shares 97% amino acid identity with PSMA. Northern blot analysis detected a 2.0-kb PSMAL transcript in adult kidney and liver, but not in any other tissue examined, including prostate.

O'Keefe et al. (2004) determined that the PSMAL gene contains 18 exons. The PSMAL gene lacks the 5-prime promoter region and exon 1 of the PSMA gene, but it contains a unique 5-prime promoter region with a CCAAT box and a TATA box. Both genes contain an internal enhancer element within intronic sequences. Using a reporter gene assay, O'Keefe et al. (2004) confirmed that the enhancer region of the PSMAL gene is functional.