Regular Article
Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Class VI Semaphorin, Semaphorin Y

https://doi.org/10.1006/mcne.1998.0732Get rights and content

Abstract

Semaphorins comprise a large family of proteins implicated in axonal guidance. We cloned a novel transmembrane semaphorin, semaphorin Y (Sema Y), which has a class VI sema domain. Sema Y shows growth cone collapsing activity on DRG neuronsin vitro,and the target regions of the DRG neurons expresssema YmRNA during development. Sema Y may be a stop signal for these neurons in their target areas. Interestingly,sema YmRNA was also detected in other neurons and their targets. Two isoforms of Sema Y derived from alternative splicing were identified and their expression was found to be regulated in a tissue- and age-dependent manner. Distribution ofsema YmRNA suggests that Sema Y might also be important during maintenance of axonal connections and/or differentiation and migration of cells. Sequence comparison among class VI semaphorins revealed two short conserved sequence stretches in their cytoplasmic domains, suggesting interaction of these semaphorins with a common intracellular component(s).

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  • Cited by (0)

    The sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ, EMBL and GenBank databases under Accession Nos. AB000817 (rat Sema YL), AB014074 (rat Sema YS), and AB013729 (mouse Sema YS).

    1

    To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:[email protected].

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