title: Structure of the chicken neuron-glia cell adhesion molecule, Ng-CAM: origin of the polypeptides and relation to the Ig superfamily.
abstract: The neuron-glia cell adhesion molecule (Ng-CAM) mediates both neuron-neuron and neuron-glia adhesion; it is detected on SDS-PAGE as a predominant 135-kD glycoprotein, with minor components of 80, 190, and 210 kD. We have isolated cDNA clones encoding the entire sequence of chicken Ng-CAM. The predicted extracellular region includes six immunoglobulin-like domains followed by five fibronectin-type III repeats, structural features that are characteristic of several neural CAMs of the N-CAM superfamily. The amino acid sequence of chicken Ng-CAM is most similar to that of mouse L1 but the overall identity is only 40% and Ng-CAM contains a short fibronectin-like segment with an RGD sequence that has no counterpart in L1. These findings suggest that Ng-CAM and L1 may not be equivalent molecules in chicken and mouse. The amino-terminal sequences of the 210-, 190-, and 135-kD components of Ng-CAM are all the same as the predicted amino terminus of the molecule, whereas the 80-kD component begins within the third fibronectin repeat. The cDNA sequence is continuous across the junction between the 135- and 80-kD components, and a single 170-kD Ng-CAM polypeptide was isolated from tunicamycin-treated cells. In addition, all cDNA probes hybridized on Northern blots to a 6-kb RNA, and most hybridized to single bands on Southern blots. These results indicate that the Ng-CAM components are derived from a single polypeptide encoded by a single gene, and that the 135- and 80-kD components are generated from the 210/190-kD species by proteolytic cleavage. The 135-kD component contains most of the extracellular region including all of the immunoglobulin-like domains. It has no transmembrane segment, but it is tightly associated with the membrane. The 80-kD component contains two and a half type III repeats plus the RGD-containing segment, as well as the single transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. These structural features of Ng-CAM provide a framework for understanding its multiple functions in neuron-neuron interactions, neurite fasciculation, and neuron-glia interactions.
authors.affiliation: Rockefeller University, New York 10021.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Burgoon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grumet
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mauro
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Edelman
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Cunningham
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002645:Chickens; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000737:chemistry; D005796:Genes; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D019063:Tenascin
chemical_list: D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D005353:Fibronectins; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D019063:Tenascin