J. Cell Biol., Volume 141, Number 4, May 18, 1998 1061-1071

Epithelial V-like Antigen (EVA), a Novel Member of the Immunoglobulin Superfamily, Expressed in Embryonic Epithelia with a Potential Role as Homotypic Adhesion Molecule in Thymus Histogenesis

Maria Guttinger,^* Francesca Sutti,^* Maddalena Panigada,^* Simona Porcellini,^* Barbara Merati,^* Margherita Mariani,^* Tambet Teesalu,^* G. Giacomo Consalez,^* and Fabio Grassi

^* Department of Biological and Technological Research (DIBIT), San Raffaele Scientific Institute (HSR); and  Dipartimento di Biologia e Genetica per le Scienze Mediche, Università di Milano at DIBIT-HSR, I-20132 Milan, Italy

Thymus development depends on a complex series of interactions between thymocytes and the stromal component of the organ. To identify regulated genes during this codependent developmental relationship, we have applied an RNA fingerprinting technique to the analysis of thymus expansion and maturation induced in recombinase-deficient mice injected with anti-CD3 antibodies. This approach led us to the identification of a gene encoding a new member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, named epithelial V-like antigen (EVA), which is expressed in thymus epithelium and strongly downregulated by thymocyte developmental progression. This gene is expressed in the thymus and in several epithelial structures early in embryogenesis. EVA is highly homologous to the myelin protein zero and, in thymus-derived epithelial cell lines, is poorly soluble in nonionic detergents, strongly suggesting an association to the cytoskeleton. Its capacity to mediate cell adhesion through a homophilic interaction and its selective regulation by T cell maturation might imply the participation of EVA in the earliest phases of thymus organogenesis.

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