cDNA cloning, chromosomal mapping, and expression analysis of human VE-Cadherin-2

Murine vascular endothelial cadherin-2 (VE-cad-2) is a cellular adhesion mo lecule that is distinct from vascular endothelial cadherin 1 (VE-cad-1) in that it does not interact with catenins and does not appear to affect cell migration or growth. In this study, we have cloned a full-length cDNA of th e human homolog of VE-cad-2 and used it to map the chromosomal locus of the VE-cad-2 gene. Human VE-cad-2 maps to Chromosome (Chr) 5q31. The cDNA of h uman VE-cad-2 is highly homologous to mouse VE-cad-2, except for a C-termin al tail. The genomic structure of VE-cad-2 is strikingly similar to that re ported for a large family of neuronal protocadherin genes mapped to Chr 5q, yet the amino acid sequences between VE-cad-2 and the protocadherins are s ubstantially divergent. The promoter of human VE-cad-2 contains two TATA bo xes and transcription initiates from a single site 3' to these elements. Si milar to mouse VE-cad-2, the human gene is expressed primarily in highly va scularized tissues.