Celsr1, a neural-specific gene encoding an unusual seven-pass transmembrane receptor, maps to mouse chromosome 15 and...

We have identified Celsr1, a gene that encodes a developmentally regulated vertebrate seven-pass transmembrane protein. The extracellular domain of Celsr1 contains two regions each with homology to distinct classes of well-characterized motifs found in the extra-cellular domains of many cell surface molecules. The most N-terminal region contains a block of contiguous cadherin repeats, and C-terminal to this is a region containing seven epidermal growth factor-like repeats interrupted by two laminin A G-type repeats. Celsr1 is unique in that it contains this combination of repeats coupled to a seven-pass transmembrane domain. As part of the characterization of the Celsr1 gene, we have determined its chromosomal map location in both mouse and human. The European Collaborative Interspecific Backcross (EUCIB) and BXD recombinant inbred strains were used for mapping Celsr1 cDNA clones in the mouse, and fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to map human Celsr1 cosmid clones on metaphase chromosomes. We report that Celsr1 maps to proximal mouse Chromosome 15 and human chromosome 22qter, a region of conserved synteny. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis and in situ hybridization were used to determine the spatial restriction of Celsr1 transcripts in adult and embryonic mice. The results presented here extend our previous finding of expression of the Celsr1 receptor in the embryo and show that expression continues into adult life when expression in the brain is localized principally in the ependymal cell layer, choroid plexus, and the area postrema.