Ten-m/Odz/teneurins are a new family of four distinct type II transmembrane molecules. Their extracellular domains are composed of an array of eight consecutive EGF modules followed by a large globular domain. Two of the eight modules contain only 5 instead of the typical 6 cysteine residues and have the capability to dimerize in a covalent, disulfide-linked fashion. The structural properties of the extracellular domains of all four mouse Ten-m proteins have been analyzed using secreted, recombinant molecules produced by mammalian HEK-293 cells. Electron microscopic analysis supported by analytical ultracentrifugation data revealed that the recombinant extracellular domains of all Ten-m proteins formed homodimers. SDS-PAGE analysis under nonreducing conditions as well as negative staining after partial denaturation of the molecules indicated that the globular COOH-terminal domains of Ten-m1 and -m4 contained subdomains with a pronounced stability against denaturing agents, especially when compared with the homologous domains of Ten-m2 and -m3. Cotransfection experiments of mammalian cells with two different extracellular domains revealed that Ten-m molecules have also the ability to form heterodimers, a property that, combined with alternative splicing events, allows the formation of a multitude of molecules with different characteristics from a limited set of genes.The Ten-m/Odz protein was first found in Drosophila where it was proposed to be either a secreted tenascin-like molecule (1) or type I transmembrane receptor (2). We have subsequently identified and characterized the mouse Ten-m and found that it characterizes a new family of genes composed of 4 members (Ten-m1-4). The biochemical analysis of recombinant fragments of mouse Ten-m1 and alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins revealed that Ten-m1 is expressed as a type II transmembrane molecule. Furthermore, we could demonstrate that two of the eight tandemly arranged EGF 1 modules present in the extracellular domain of mouse Ten-m1 containing 5 instead of 6 cysteine residues facilitate the dimerization of two molecules in a covalent, disulfide-linked fashion. Members of the Ten-m family have in the meantime also been described in rat (3), chicken (4 -7), human (8, 9), zebrafish (10), and Caenorhabditis elegans (11).The expression pattern of Ten-m/Odz in flies and mammals suggests important roles during as well as after development. In Drosophila embryogenesis, Ten-m/Odz is expressed in seven stripes during the blastoderm stage (12) and later also in the central nervous system (1), heart (2), and eye (13). Expression studies of Ten-m1-4 in adult mouse tissues showed a widespread expression with the highest levels in the brain (14, 15). In chicken, both teneurin-1 (corresponding to Ten-m1) and teneurin-2 (corresponding to Ten-m2) are expressed in neurons of the developing visual system (4). Furthermore, teneurin-2 mRNA and protein are also found in the developing limbs, somites, and craniofacial mesenchyme (7). During the segmentation period of zebrafish, T...