MOLECULAR-CLONING OF XNLRR-1, A XENOPUS HOMOLOG OF MOUSE NEURONAL LEUCINE-RICH REPEAT PROTEIN EXPRESSED IN THE DEVELOPING XENOPUS NERVOUS-SYSTEM

We report the isolation and characterization of a Xenopus sequence, XN LRR-1, that is closely related to a gene for mouse neuronal leucine-ri ch repeat protein (NLRR-1). The cDNA clone is 4179 bp long and encodes a putative transmembrane glycoprotein of 718 amino acids, containing 12 leucine-rich repeats followed by one C2-type immunoglobulin-like do main and one fibronectin type-III repeat. XNLRR-1 is transcribed mainl y in the developing eye area and the Ventricular zone from diencephalo n to hindbrain and slightly in spinal cord in Xenopus tadpoles. The si milarity of the XNLRR-1 gene to other known cell adhesion molecules, t ogether with the expression pattern, suggests that XNLRR-1 is involved in interactions at the neuronal cell surface. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.