Molecular cloning of novel leucine-rich repeat proteins and their expression in the developing mouse nervous system

It is well established that leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins such as connectin, slit, chaoptin, and Toll have pivotal roles in neuronal development in Drosophila as cell adhesion molecules. However, to date, little information concerning mammalian LRR proteins has been reported. In the present study, we sought LRR proteins of the mouse brain, based on the assumption that fundamental mechanisms are conserved between different species. We screened a neonatal mouse brain cDNA library with a human partial cDNA encoding LRR protein as a probe. We obtained two independent cDNAs encoding LRR proteins, designated NLRR-1 and NLRR-2 (Neuronal Leucine-Rich Repeat proteins). We analyzed the whole sequence of NLRR-1 and partial sequence of NLRR-2. Sequence analysis showed that these two clones are about 60% homologous to each other, and that NLRR-1 protein is a transmembrane protein. Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization histochemistry showed that both NLRR-1 and NLRR-2 mRNAs were expressed primarily in the central nervous system (CNS); NLRR-1 mRNA was also detected in the non-neuronal tissues such as cartilage, while NLRR-2 mRNA expression was confined to the CNS at all developmental stages. These results suggest that there is at least one LRR protein family in the mouse and that these molecules may play significant but distinct roles in neural development and in the adult nervous system.