Desmoglein-2 gene maps on chromosome 18q12.1.

15 exons; Transcript length: 5,652 bps.

A transmembrane glycoprotein of 1,118 amino acids, which has a molecular mass ranging 97 to 18 kDa. Desmoglein-2 is a calcium-binding transmembrane glycoprotein component of desmosomes.

Desmoglein-2 (DSG2) is expressed on various cells including simple epithelia and myocardium, tumors and and many cell cultures. By contrast, the epidermal isoforms DSG1 and DSG3 are restricted to certain specialized epithelia, mostly stratified squamous ones (Schafer et al., 1994).

Epithelial cell-cell adhesion is important in tumor development. Dsgs are transmembrane glycoproteins of the desmosome, a cell-cell adhesive structure prominent in epithelial tissues, which have been reported to be associated with tumor development (Tselepis et al., 1998). cDNA and protein studies have revealed that there are subfamilies of DSG (types 1, 2 and 3) and DSC (types 1, 2 and 3) (Buxton et al., 1993). DSG2 and DSC2 are widely expressed and are found together in desmosomes of the basal layer of stratified epithelia, simple epithelia, and nonepithelial cells such as in the myocardium of the heart and lymph node follicles, whereas DSG3/DSC3 and DSG1/DSC1 are more restricted to complex epithelial tissues. Although considerable overlap is exhibited in the distribution of these isoforms in stratified tissues, their expression is clearly differentiation-dependent. DSG2, but not DSG1 or DSG3, is expressed in stomach epithelia.