CD151 and functional overlap in tetrapanins

Mammalian cells can express at their surface upto 30 different proteins that are members of the 'tetraspanin' superfamily. The role of these proteins is incompletely understood, but is believed tobe one of theorganising molecules. It is not known which aspects of tetraspanin function are shared amongst family members and which are unique to tetraspanin. The subtle effects caused by the lack of an individual tetraspanin in mice suggest that function is to some extent shared. We are addressing this question by producing mice that are genetically incapable of producing several tetraspanin molecules