Protocadherin 2C: A new member of the protocadherin 2 subfamily expressed in a redundant manner with OL-protocadherin in the developing brain

Using cDNA of human protocadherin 2A (pc2A; originally known as protocadher in 2) as a probe, we cloned a new member of the protocadherin 2 subfamily f rom mouse brain cDNA libraries and named it protocadherin 2C (pc2C). It was similar to pc2A throughout its entire coding region, and its C-terminal re gion was highly conserved. The locus of the pc2C gene was on the mouse chro mosome 18C where the pc2A gene is located, suggesting that genes of the pc2 subfamily form a gene cluster. The expression of pc2C was restricted to th e nervous system, and the expression started in the embryonic stage and inc reased up to the adult stage. The expression pattern was quite similar to t hat of OL-protocadherin, a distinct class of protocadherin, although the ti ming and relative strength of expression were different. These results sugg est that pc2C may be involved in neural development along with other classe s of protocadherins. (C) 1999 Academic Press.