A REGION OF THE 75 KDA NEUROTROPHIN RECEPTOR HOMOLOGOUS TO THE DEATH DOMAINS OF TNFR-I AND FAS

Members of the NTR/TNFR family mediate apoptosis in many tissues, yet sequence homology has not been detected in their intracellular domains except for a 'death domain' in TNFR-I and Fas, Here, a region of the 75 kDa neurotrophin receptor (NTR) has been aligned with this apoptosi s-inducing motif. Peptides at the carboxyl terminus of each domain pot entially form amphiphilic helices, one of which (in NTR) resembles mas toparan, a G-protein activating peptide. Molecular models of three dea th-region peptides suggest that observed sequence similarities reflect a common structure, perhaps capable of undergoing an induced coil to helix transition.