AICL: a new activation-induced antigen encoded by the human NK gene complex

The NK gene complex on mouse chromosome 6 and its human homologue on chromosome 12 encode type II transmembrane proteins with a C-type lectin domain which trigger or inhibit target cell lysis by NK cells (NKR-P1, Ly49, NKG2, CD94) or function as cellular activators of various hematopoietic cells (CD69). We herein report the cDNA cloning of a new molecule, designated activation-induced C-type lectin (AICL), whose gene maps to the human NK gene complex proximal to the CD69 gene. AICL is a 149-amino acid (aa) polypeptide with a short cytoplasmic part of seven aa and a C-type lectin domain separated from the transmembrane region by only nine aa. The highest sequence similarity is found to the C-type lectin domains of CD69 and the chicken lectin 17.5. The presence of AICL transcripts in different cell types of hematopoietic origin, a rapid increase of gene transcription during lymphocyte activation, and a short half-life of the mRNA characterize AICL as a new, broadly expressed activation antigen.