Abstract
TRAIL-R3, a new member of the TRAIL receptor family, has been cloned and characterized. TRAIL-R3 encodes a 299 amino acid protein with 58 and 54% overall identity to TRAIL-R1 and -R2, respectively. Transient expression and quantitative binding studies show TRAIL-R3 to be a plasma membrane-bound protein capable of high affinity interaction with the TRAIL ligand. The TRAIL-R3 gene maps to human chromosome 8p22-21, clustered with the genes encoding two other TRAIL receptors. In contrast to TRAIL-R1 and -R2, this receptor shows restricted expression, with transcripts detectable only in peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen. The structure of TRAIL-R3 is unique when compared to the other TRAIL receptors in that it lacks a cytoplasmic domain and appears to be glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-linked. Moreover, unlike TRAIL-R1 and -R2, in a transient overexpression system TRAIL-R3 does not induce apoptosis.