Cloning and expression of the platelet-specific collagen receptor glycoprotein VI

Platelet glycoprotein VI (GP VI) was purified from platelet membranes and its internal amino acid sequences were determined. The cloned cDNA of GP VI indicates an open reading frame coding for 20 amino acid signal sequences and a mature protein of 319 amino acids. Its extracellular region has two Ig-like domains and a mucin-like, Ser/Thr-rich region, suggesting that GP VI is a member of the paired Ig-like receptor family. GP VI-transfected cells contained convulxin-(reactive) and antibody against recombinant GP VI-reactive protein bands that migrated at the same position as platelet GP VI in SDS/PAGE-electroblotting. These data indicate that the protein deduced from the cloned cDNA corresponds to platelet GP VI.