The Drosophila "patched" gene (PTC) encodes a transmembrane protein that represses transcription of genes encoding members of the TGF-beta and Wnt (164820) signaling protein families in certain cells.
Homologs of PTC have been identified in mice, chickens, and zebrafish.
Johnson et al. (1996) reported the isolation and mapping of the human homolog of the PTCc gene from Drosophila. They cloned the human PTC gene. The predicted amino acid sequence of the encoded protein is 96% identical to that of mice and 40% identical to that of Drosophila PTC proteins. The human PTC protein contains 12 hydrophobic membrane-spanning domains and 2 large hydrophilic extracellular loops.
Hahn et al (1996) also isolated a human sequence with strong homology to the Drosophila segment polarity gene "Patched" from naevoid basal cell carcinoma (NBCCS) gene material on chromosome 9q22.3.