cDNA clones of ski and the ski-related gene, sno, were obtained by screening human cDNA libraries. The predicted open reading frame of h-ski could encode a protein of 728 amino acid residues. The h-ski protein is highly homologous with the v-ski protein. The overall homology between h-ski and v-ski is 91% at the amino acid level. DNA sequencing analysis revealed two types of cDNA clones from the sno (ski-related novel gene) gene, possibly due to alternative splicing. The first type, named snoN (non Alu-containing), encoded a protein of 684 amino acid residues. The second type, named snoA (Alu-containing), encoded a protein of 415 amino acid residues. The first 366 amino acid residues of snoN and snoA are the same, but subsequent amino acids show divergence. Several transcripts of h-ski (6.0, 4.7, 3.8, 3.0, 2.1 and 1.8 kb) were detected. The mRNAs of h-sno were 6.2, 4.4 and 3.2kb.