We have identified and characterized two mouse cDNAs in a mouse antigen-stimulated bone marrow-derived mast cell cDNA library. both of which encode type I transmembrane proteins. The genes were closely mapped in the distal region of mouse chromosome I I and expressed not only in mast cells but also widely in leukocytes. The extracellular domains of their encoded proteins contain a single variable immunoglobulin (Ig) motif sharing about 90% identity with amino acids, showing that they comprise a pair of molecules and belong to the Ig superfamily. We named these molecules leukocyte mono-Ig-like receptor1 and 2 (LMIR1 and 2). The intracellular domain of LMIR1 contains several immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs (ITIMs). When cross-linked, the intracellular domain was tyrosine phosphorylated and capable of recruiting tyrosine phosphatases, SHP-1 and SHP-2 and inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase, SHIP. LMIR2, on the other hand, contains a short cytoplasmic tail and a characteristic transmembrane domain carrying two positively charged amino acids associated with three kinds of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-bearing molecules, DAP10, DAP12, and FcRgamma. These findings suggest that a new pair of ITIM/ITAM -bearing receptors, LMIR1 and 2, regulate mast cell-mediated inflammatory responses through yet to be defined ligand(s). (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.