The high-affinity cellular receptor for the basement membrane component laminin is differentially expressed during tumor invasion and metastasis. A cDNA clone encoding the murine laminin receptor was isolated and identified on the basis of sequence homology to the human laminin receptor [Wewer et al. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 7137-7141]. Primer extension experiments demonstrated that the clone contained the complete 5' sequence of the murine laminin receptor mRNA. RNA blot data demonstrated a single-sized laminin receptor mRNA, approximately 1400 bases long, in human, mouse, and rat. The nascent laminin receptor predicted from the cDNA sequence is 295 amino acids long, with a molecular weight of 33,000, and contains one intradisulfide bridge, a short putative transmembrane domain, and an extracellular carboxy-terminal region which has abundant glutamic acid residues and multiple repeat sequences. The precursor of the laminin receptor is apparently smaller than the 67-kilodalton protein isolated from tissue. The apparent molecular weight on SDS-polyacrylamide gels of the rabbit reticulocyte cell-free translation product of selectively hybridized laminin receptor mRNA is 37,000. Antisera to three different domains of the cDNA-predicted receptor were used to study the relationship between the 37- and 67-kilodalton polypeptides. Antisera to cDNA-deduced synthetic peptides of the receptor immunoprecipitated a 37-kilodalton band both from cell-free translation products and from pulse-labeled cell extracts. On immunoblots of cell extracts, one antisynthetic peptide antiserum recognized only the 67-kilodalton receptor, while another antiserum identified both 37- and 67-kilodalton polypeptides, suggesting a precursor-product relationship between the two polypeptides.