Human AIM-1: cDNA cloning and reduced expression during endomitosis in megakaryocyte-lineage cells

The rat AIM-1 gene encoding an Aurora- and Ip11-like midbody-associated protein serine/threonine kinase has a mitotic regulator function playing a key role in the onset of cytokinesis during mitosis. This report presents a cDNA sequence and megakaryocytic differentiation-dependent expression profile of the human AIM-1 gene. The nucleotide sequences of the human AIM-1 were identified from cDNAs of three cell lines, including cervical Carcinoma HeLa cells, colorectal tumor SW480 cells, and normal human diploid skin fibroblast NHDF cells, and no mutation was found. The expression levels of AIM-1 transcript were markedly reduced during differentiation into megakaryocytic cell lineage in human leukemia cells induced by 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol- 13-acetate (TPA), suggesting that the downregulation of AIM-1 contributes to the differentiation by repeated duplication of DNA without cytokinesis (endomitosis).