The mouse lysyl oxidase-like 2 gene (mLOXL2) maps to chromosome 14 and is highly expressed in skin, lung and thymus

The predicted amino acid sequence derived from a mouse expressed sequence t ag (EST) contig contained two domains that are highly conserved among membe rs of the lysyl oxidase gene family: a copper binding-site with four histid ines and a catalytic domain that includes a tryptophan residue. This new cD NA sequence showed the highest level of sequence homology with the human LO XL2 cDNA and suggested that it encoded the mouse equivalent of hLOXL2. The mLOXL2 gene was mapped to chromosome 14 by radiation hybrid analysis. The m LOXL2 locus was tightly linked with a LOD score over 9 to the marker D14Mit 32. The mLOXL2 gene is expressed as a 4-kb mRNA in almost all tissues analy zed, with highest levels of mRNA in skin, lung and thymus. (C) 2000 Publish ed by Elsevier Science B.V. /International Society of Matrix Biology. All r ights reserved.