title: LH-2: a LIM/homeodomain gene expressed in developing lymphocytes and neural cells.
abstract: A screen for early markers of B-lymphocyte differentiation has identified a homeobox gene, denoted LH-2, that has a pattern of expression distinct from that of other related genes. The LH-2 cDNA sequence encodes a polypeptide of 426 amino acids that contains a homeodomain and two repeats of a cysteine-rich domain referred to as a LIM domain. The homeodomain of the LH-2 protein is related to that of other LIM/homeodomain proteins, most strikingly with that of the Drosophila apterous protein. Expression of LH-2 was found in B- and T-lymphoid cell lines. Expression in B-cell lines was highest in lines that represent early stages of differentiation, whereas in T-cell lines there was no clear correlation with the stage of differentiation. In embryonic and adult tissues, the highest level of LH-2 expression was found in discrete regions of the developing central nervous system, primarily in diencephalic and telencephalic structures, and in a subset of lymphoid tissues. The expression pattern and structural characteristics of the LH-2 gene suggest that it encodes a transcriptional regulatory protein involved in the control of cell differentiation in developing lymphoid and neural cell types.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baldassare
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rathbun
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Oltz
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Yancopoulos
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jessell
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Alt
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003545:Cysteine; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D015870:Gene Expression; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; C489784:Lhx2 protein, mouse; C079093:Lhx2 protein, rat; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D003545:Cysteine