Localization of the human thyroxine-binding globulin gene to the long arm of the X chromosome (Xq21-22)

Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) is the major thyroid-hormone transport protein in the plasma of most vertebrate species. A recombinant phage (λcTBG8) containing a cDNA insert of human TBG recently has been described. With the cDNA insert from λcTBG8 used as a radiolabeled probe, DNA from a series of somatic-cell hybrids containing deletions of the X chromosome was analyzed by means of blot hybridization. The results indicated that the TBG gene is located in the midportion of the long arm of the X chromosome between bands Xq11 and Xq23. The gene then was mapped to band region Xq21-22 by means of in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes. Sequences on the X chromosome that are homologous to the cDNA probe are contained within a single EcoRI restriction fragment of 12.5 kb in human DNA. On the basis of the intensity of the hybridization signal on Southern blots, it was determined that the human TBG cDNA probe used in the present study shares significant homology with hamster and mouse sequences. A single EcoRI restriction fragment was recognized in both hamster (8.0-kb) and mouse (5.1-kb) DNA.