To isolate cDNAs that are involved in limb-motoneuron development, we compared mRNAs of lumbar and thoracic motoneurons purified from spinal cord of E4 chick embryo by differential display. In situ hybridization demonstrated that one of cDNAs is expressed exclusively in lateral motor column in spinal cord from E4 to E10. We identified two mRNA variants for the cDNA by. library screening. The long form (788 amino acids) was identical to chick MN-cadherin. The short variant (543 amino acids) lacks the first two of five extracellular domains of MN-cadherin, which commonly exist in classical cadherins. The amino acid sequence of the short form is identical to that of the carboxyl terminal NIN-cadherin, except for the distinct signal sequence. The ratio of mRNA of short form to long form was 1-20. cDNA transfection study revealed that the long form but not the short form NIN-cadherin had cell adhesion activity. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.