{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.016417910447761194, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0052238805970149255, 'mean_word_length': 5.7727272727272725, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Tissue Expression Profiling and Subcellular Characterization of Transmembrane (TMEM) proteins

Many genes that have been identified to date are yet to be characterized. Transmembrane proteins (TMEMs) serve diverse cellular functions as ion channels or receptors. To understand the functional significance of many uncharacterized TMEMs, we studied the transcript expression levels of these TMEMs in mouse tissues and organs using standard reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction. We identified a tissue‐specific pattern of expression of TMEM transcripts, while some exhibited a wide distribution in tissues and organs. We then cloned the TMEMs into a green fluorescent protein tagged expression vector to determine their subcellular localization. We found that some TMEMs localized on the plasma membrane, while others showed punctate distribution within intracellular compartments. In conclusion, the scores of uncharacterized TMEM proteins exhibit either a tissue‐specific or a diverse expression pattern in mouse tissue and organs, and that our investigation has validated their annotated name as being a transmembrane protein. Future research should reveal a better understanding of the functional significance of these TMEM proteins in humans and other mammals. Funded partly by the HHMI Science Ed Program, and NSF MCB 0920127.