Antibody-blocking studies have demonstrated the role of CD6 in thymocyte-thymic epithelial (TE) cell adhesion. Here we report that CD6 expressed by COS cells mediates adhesion to TE cells and that this interaction is specifically blocked with an anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody (mAb) or with a mAb (J4-81) that recognized a TE cell antigen. We isolated and expressed a cDNA clone encoding this antigen and show that COS cells transfected with this cDNA bind a CD6 immunoglobulin fusion protein (CD6-Rg). This antigen, which we named ALCAM (activated leukocyte-cell adhesion molecule) because of its expression on activated leukocytes, appears to be the human homologue of the chicken neural adhesion molecule BEN/SC-1/DM-GRASP. The gene was mapped to human chromosome 3q13.1-q13.2 by fluorescence in situ hybridization of cDNA probes to metaphase chromosomes. We prepared an ALCAM-Rg fusion protein and showed that it binds to COS cell transfectants expressing CD6, demonstrating that ALCAM is a CD6 ligand. The observations that ALCAM is also expressed by activated leukocytes and that both ALCAM and CD6 are expressed in the brain suggest that ALCAM-CD6 interactions may play a role in the binding of T and B cells to activated leukocytes, as well as in interactions between cells of the nervous system.
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1 June 1995
Article|
June 01 1995
Cloning, mapping, and characterization of activated leukocyte-cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), a CD6 ligand.
M A Bowen,
M A Bowen
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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D D Patel,
D D Patel
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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X Li,
X Li
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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B Modrell,
B Modrell
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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A R Malacko,
A R Malacko
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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W C Wang,
W C Wang
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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H Marquardt,
H Marquardt
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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M Neubauer,
M Neubauer
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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J M Pesando,
J M Pesando
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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U Francke
U Francke
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
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M A Bowen,
D D Patel,
X Li,
B Modrell,
A R Malacko,
W C Wang,
H Marquardt,
M Neubauer,
J M Pesando,
U Francke
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1995) 181 (6): 2213–2220.
Citation
M A Bowen, D D Patel, X Li, B Modrell, A R Malacko, W C Wang, H Marquardt, M Neubauer, J M Pesando, U Francke; Cloning, mapping, and characterization of activated leukocyte-cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), a CD6 ligand.. J Exp Med 1 June 1995; 181 (6): 2213–2220. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.181.6.2213
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