CELSR1, A NEURAL-SPECIFIC GENE ENCODING AN UNUSUAL 7-PASS TRANSMEMBRANE RECEPTOR, MAPS TO MOUSE-CHROMOSOME-15 AND HUMAN-CHROMOSOME 22QTER

We have identified Celsr1, a gene that encodes a developmentally regul ated vertebrate seven-pass transmembrane protein. The extracellular do main of Celsr1 contains two regions each with homology to distinct cla sses of well-characterized motifs found in the extracellular domains o f many cell surface molecules. The most N-terminal region contains a b lock of contiguous cadherin repeats, and C-terminal to this is a regio n containing seven epidermal growth factor-like repeats interrupted by two laminin A G-type repeats. Celsr1 is unique in that it contains th is combination of repeats coupled to a seven-pass transmembrane domain , As part of the characterization of the Celsr1 gene, we have determin ed its chromosomal map location in both mouse and human. The European Collaborative Interspecific Backcross (EUCIB) and BXD recombinant inbr ed strains were used for mapping Celsr1 cDNA clones in the mouse, and fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to map human Celsr1 cosmid clones on metaphase chromosomes. We report that Celsr1 maps to proxim al mouse Chromosome 15 and human chromosome 22qter, a region of conser ved synteny. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis and in situ hybridization were used to determine the spatial restricti on of Celsr1 transcripts in adult and embryonic mice. The results pres ented here extend our previous finding of expression of the Celsr1 rec eptor in the embryo and show that expression continues into adult life when expression in the brain is localized principally in the ependyma l cell layer, choroid plexus, and the area postrema. (C) 1997 Academic Press.