The product of the NF2 tumour suppressor gene localizes near the plasma membrane and is highly expressed in muscle cells.

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a disease resulting in the formation of schwannomas of the eighth cranial nerve, and other central nervous system tumours. A tumour suppressor gene has been found to be responsible for this disorder. The 595 amino acid NF2 protein shows a great deal of homology to a superfamily of membrane organizing proteins. To generate antibodies against the NF2 protein four synthetic peptides (SP) were injected in rabbits. COS cells transfected with an NF2 cDNA construct in an expression vector were used for immunocytochemical staining experiments; lysates of transfected COS cells were used for Western blotting experiments, as were lysates of E. coli cultures transformed with an NF2 cDNA construct subcloned in a prokaryotic expression vector. In western blots all sera detected a band indicating the appropriate molecular weight in lysates of transfected COS cells and E. coli. Immunocytochemical staining experiments indicate that the NF2 protein localizes in or near the cell membrane. Immunohistochemical staining of human tissue sections demonstrated the presence of the NF2 protein in muscle-, and Schwann cells. These results support the hypothesis that the NF2 protein functions as a membrane organizing element.