Identification, gene structure, and expression of human frizzled-3 (FZD3)

We report the identification, genomic structure, chromosomal localization, and expression analysis of human frizzled-3 (FZD3), a 7-transmembrane recep tor belonging to the frizzled family. The cDNA obtained from adult human br ain shows 91% identity at the nucleotide level and 98% at the amino acid le vel to mouse frizzled-3 (fzd3), The FZD3 locus is located on chromosome 8p2 1, spans 48 Kb and its coding sequence is distributed in 6 exons intercalat ed by 5 introns, FZD3 is expressed in all analyzed human tissues, with quan titatively higher expression in the CNS and in urogenital structures. (C) 2 000 Academic Press.