Genomic organization, chromosomal localization, and 5' upstream region of the human DC-STAMP gene

• Published in: Immunogenetics (New York) Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 145 - 149
• Main Authors: Hartgers, F C, Looman, M W, van der Woning, B, Merkx, G F, Figdor, C G, Adema, G J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-03-2001
• Subjects: Alternative Splicing; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Cell Differentiation; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8 - genetics; DC-STAMP gene; Dendritic Cells - cytology; Dendritic Cells - immunology; Dendritic Cells - metabolism; DNA, Complementary - genetics; Exons; Genome, Human; Humans; Introns; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Promoter Regions, Genetic
• ISSN: 0093-7711; 1432-1211
• DOI: 10.1007/s002510100302

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an importnt role in the induction of antigen-specific immune responses. Immature DCs capture antigens in peripheral tissues and subsequently migrate to the T-cell areas of secondary lymphoid organs to present these antigens to naive T and B cells. The DC-specific transmembrane (TM) protein (DC-STAMP) is a novel TM molecule preferentially expressed by DCs that was identified by random sequencing of DC cDNA libraries. DC-STAMP is expressed by both immature and mature DCs, and its expression is downregulated by ligation of the CD40 molecule. The protein contains several putative TM regions, and has an intracellular C-terminus. Surprisingly, no sequence homology was found with any other protein or multimembrane-spanning receptor, indicating that DC-STAMP represents a new group of TM proteins. In this study, we cloned the DC-STAMP gene and characterized its genomic structure and chromosomal location.