MATRILIN-4, A NEW MEMBER OF THE MATRILIN FAMILY OF EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX PROTEINS

Mouse cDNA encoding for matrilin-4 was cloned and the primary structur e of this fourth member of the matrilin family was deduced from the nu cleotide sequence. The protein precursor of 624 amino acids consists o f a putative signal peptide, two vWFA-like domains linked by four epid ermal growth factor-like modules and a potential coiled-coil alpha-hel ical oligomerization domain at the C-terminus, The predicted M-r of th e mature protein is 66442. Expression in lung, brain, sternum, kidney and heart was detected by Northern blot analysis of mouse mRNA, Additi onally an alternatively spliced mRNA lacking the sequence coding for t he first vWFA domain was found in 7 weeks old mice leading to a protei n precursor of 434 amino acids and a predicted M-r of the mature prote in of 45468. (C) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.