Molecular cloning of the mouse equivalent of CD9 antigen

The CD9 antigen was originally described as a 24 kDa molecule present on B lineage-derived acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells and developing B-lymphocytes. However, platelets express a large amount of CD9 antigen and can be activated by CD9 antibodies. We report here the cloning and sequencing of a cDNA coding for the mouse CD9 antigen. There is 89% homology at amino acid level between the human and mouse CD9 molecules. Most of the differences (19 out of 24) are located in the large putative extracellular domain encoded by exons 5 and 6. CD9 antigen belongs to a new cell surface protein family which includes TAPA1 and the platelet activation antigen CD63. These proteins share common structural features with the CD9 antigen and a similar distribution of the evolutionarily variable region.