title: Desmocollins form a distinct subset of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules.
abstract: The desmosomal adhesive core is formed by four major components: desmoglein (Mr, 165,000), desmocollins I and II (Mr, 120,000 and 110,000, respectively), and a Mr 22,000 protein. Here, we report the cloning and sequencing of cDNAs encoding a bovine desmocollin. The open reading frame found in the longest cDNA, 5 kilobases, contains a region encoding a protein of 839 amino acids. The features of the deduced amino acid sequence imply that the mature 707-amino acid desmocollin is a type I transmembrane protein that is produced by proteolytic cleavage of an 810-amino acid precursor. The ectodomain of desmocollin contains repeats that show extensive sequence similarity to members of the cadherin family of calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of desmocollin, desmoglein, and the cadherins shows that although these intercellular junctional adhesion molecules share a consensus sequence in their adhesive domains that defines them as a family, several features, including the divergence in the sequence of their cytoplasmic tails, divide them into three distinct subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mechanic
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Raynor
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cowin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D051187:Desmocollins; D051182:Desmogleins; D051180:Desmoplakins; D003896:Desmosomes; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051187:Desmocollins; D051182:Desmogleins; D051180:Desmoplakins; D011498:Protein Precursors; D004247:DNA