A cDNA of a processed gene of human DAD-1 (defender against apoptotic cell death) was cloned from the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. The genomic sequence of this novel processed gene, DAD-R, lacked introns and was flanked by 8 bp terminal repeats. RT-PCR showed that the transcript is expressed predominantly in testis, ovaries, pancreas, lung and skeletal muscle. DAD-R has several possible initiation codons, one of them producing an open reading frame comprising 75% of the DAD-1 gene. We determined the chromosomal localization of DAD-R as 12p11.2–12p12.1, an area linked to familial synpolydactyly and frequently amplified in a variety of cancers, including those of testis, ovaries, pancreas and lungs.
