Assignment of the human slit homologue SLIT2 to human chromosome band 4p15.2

We recently described the isolation of a novel vertebrate homologue of the Drosophila sli gene, SLIT2, from human and mouse (Holmes et al., 1998). This gene has been allocated the gene symbol SLIT2 (Slit [Drosophila] homologue 2). The gene encodes a putative secreted protein consisting of leucine-rich repeats, EGF repeats, a novel agrin-laminin-perlecan-slit motif and cysteine-rich CTC knot motif, all of which are highly conserved between vertebrate and Drosophila. Characterisation of the expression pattern of this gene suggests that SLIT2 plays an important role in early body axis formation and cell patterning of the neural tube and in the development of the brain and spinal cord, the limbs and specific internal organs such as the kidney and therefore may be implicated in the pathogenesis of human disease. Here we report the chromosomal localisation of SLIT2 to human chromosome 4p. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation placed SLIT2 at 4p15.2, however radiation-hybrid panel mapping suggested a more telomeric location, 4p16.3. We argue that the fluorescence mapping is more accurate.