Mouse Ly-6 proteins and their extended family: markers of cell differentiation and regulators of cell signaling.
The Ly-6 locus on mouse chromosome 15 encodes a family of 10-12 kDa proteins that are linked to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol anchor and have cell signaling and cell adhesion properties. Expression of Ly-6 proteins is tightly regulated during development; these proteins continue to serve as excellent differentiation surface markers on normal and abnormal cells, but their role in driving cellular differentiation is still emerging. Recent studies suggest that Ly-6 gene products participate in regulating signaling through other cell type-specific receptors, perhaps by virtue of these proteins being localized in lipid rafts that play a key role in relaying signals from the membrane to the nucleus. Ligands for some Ly-6 proteins have been reported; the consequence of their interactions with the Ly-6 receptor remains to be fully uncovered. Mouse Ly-6-like proteins have also been reported from a variety of life forms ranging from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans that show a limited amino acid identity and share structural features with members of mouse Ly-6. Despite these similarities, the non-murine Ly-6 proteins bind distinct ligands and appear to have different cellular functions. All members of the Ly-6 super gene family perhaps evolved from an ancestral gene by a gene duplication mechanism.
Biology Department, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085, USA. anil.bamezai@vallanova.edu
Anil
A
Bamezai
D000818:Animals; D000950:Antigens, Ly / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D005810:Multigene Family
D000950:Antigens, Ly; D015415:Biomarkers