The genomic organization of the mouse CD94 C-type lectin gene

The mouse natural killer (NK) gene complex is located on chromosome 6 and contains a number of genes encoding C-type lectin receptors which have been found to regulate NK cell function. Among these are CD94 and four NKG2 genes. Like its human counterpart, the mouse CD94 protein associates with different NKG2 isoforms and recognizes the atypical MHC class I molecule Qa-1b. Here, the genomic organization of the mouse CD94 gene was determined by analysing a BAC clone containing the CD94 gene. The mouse CD94 gene contains six exons separated by five introns. Exons I and II encode the 5' untranslated region (UTR) and the transmembrane domain. Exon III encodes the stalk region and exons IV-VI encode the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Furthermore, we cloned and sequenced the CD94 promoter region, and putative regulatory DNA elements were identified. Further studies on the CD94 promoter region may help to elucidate the restricted expression pattern of CD94 in NK cells and a subpopulation of T cells.