cDNA cloning and genomic analysis of a new multigene family sharing common phylogenetic and expression profiles with the laminin receptor gene

We have isolated a human laminin receptor (LR) cDNA which bears a different sequence in its 5′ end with regard to the corresponding region in the regular LR mRNA. This different sequence hybridizes to a 1 kb mRNA. We have cloned a 740 by cDNA for this transcript (cDNA 48-1). Search on sequence data bases revealed no sequence homology with known messengers or proteins. Using cDNA 48-1 in a simplified version of the protocol with which we had previously characterized the LR gene as a member of a retrogene family in mammals, we show in the present paper that the gene of this new transcript exhibits phylogenic, expression and amplification features that strickingly recall those of the LR gene.