Protocadherin 3 (PCDH3)

Pcdh3 is the third protocadherin of which the entire coding sequence has been determined. Most of the deduced amino acid sequences of other cDNA clones obtained by the screening show high homology with but are distinct from that of Pcdh3, indicating that most of these sequences correspond to homologous but different protocadherins. These results demonstrate that Pcdh3 and the protocadherins defined by these clones constitute a protocadherin subfamily. Chromosome mapping indicates that mouse Pcdh3 is located in a specific region of mouse chromosome 18, close to the location of previously cloned protocadherins, suggesting that various protocadherins form a cluster in this region. Pcdh3 and its related proteins were expressed at various areas in brain. The expressed Pcdh3 protein from the cDNA in mouse L cells was about 100 kDa in molecular weight and was localized at cell-cell contact sites.