High impact information on PCDHA@

• (*Joint CNRS/Jacques Monod/EMBO Conference on 'The Role of Microfilament Function and Regulation in Cell Polarity'; Presqu'ile de Giens, France 15-19 Sept 2001. Organized by Daniel Louvard and Tony Bretscher.)[1]
• In an effort to understand whether gene density contributes to LD, we determined the degree of promoter sequence variation in a large tandem-arrayed gene family, the human protocadherin alpha cluster, on chromosome 5 [2].
• Extensive linkage disequilibrium, a common 16.7-kilobase deletion, and evidence of balancing selection in the human protocadherin alpha cluster [2].
• IMGT, the international ImMunoGeneTics database, is an integrated database specialising in Immunoglobulins (Ig), T cell Receptors (TcR) and Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) of all vertebrate species, created by Marie-Paule Lefranc, CNRS, Montpellier II University, Montpellier, France (lefranc@ligm.crbm.cnrs-mop.fr) [3].
• The number of variable exons in the rat CNR cluster is identical to that of the human [4].

Biological context of PCDHA@

• In the genomic organization, distinct exons, each of which encodes the N-terminus of a different CNR ("variable region"), are clustered in a tandem array, and these exons are spliced to a common region composed of three exons ("constant region") [5].
• The CNR genes belong to protocadherin (Pcdh) gene clusters [6].
• Diversity of the cadherin-related neuronal receptor/protocadherin family and possible DNA rearrangement in the brain [6].
• Two administrative organizations, the Groupement de Recherche sur les Génomes (GREG) and the Groupement de Recherche 1029 (GDR 1029) of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) have been established [7].
• Genomic organizations of CNR/Pcdh genes are similar to that of the Ig and TCR genes [6].

Anatomical context of PCDHA@

• Thus the CNR family in the central nervous system has similarities to the immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor genes in the immune system [5].

Associations of PCDHA@ with chemical compounds

• The rat CNRs (v1-v13) also contain an RGD motif in the extracellular cadherin 1 domains and cysteine repeats that are characteristic of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of CNR proteins [4].
• A composite constituted of calcium phosphate (CaP) granules and a hydrophilic polymer as a carrier (hydroxy-propyl-methyl cellulose, HPMC) was developed to be an injectable bone substitute (IBS, CNRS patent) [8].
• We note the existence of closely spaced tellurium absorption lines, suitable for referencing purposes in gas sensing applications, at wavelengths below the lower limit (417 nm) of the spectral region covered by the tellurium atlas [J. Cariou, P. Luc, Atlas du spectre d'Absorption de la Molecule de Tellure, CNRS, Paris, 1980] [9].

References