STRUCTURE AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION OF THE GENE (BDKRB2) ENCODING HUMAN BRADYKININ B-2 RECEPTOR

The bradykinin B-2 receptor (BDKRB2) has high affinity for the intact kinins, which mediate a wide spectrum of biological effects, including pain, inflammation, vasodilation, and smooth muscle contraction and relaxation. In the present study, we have cloned and sequenced the gene encoding human bradykinin B-2 receptor from a human genomic library. The B-2 receptor gene contains three exons separated by two introns. The first and second exons are noncoding, while the third exon contains the full-length coding region, which encodes a protein of 364 amino acids forming 7 transmembrane domains. The human Bp gene shares high sequence identity with rat and mouse Bp receptor genes and significant similarity with the gene encoding the angiotensin II type I receptor in the nucleotide sequence and exon-intron arrangement. In the 5' flanking region, a consensus TATA box and several putative transcription factor-binding sites have been identified. Genomic Southern blot analysis showed that the B-2 receptor is encoded by a single-copy gene that was localized to chromosome 14q32 by in situ hybridization. In a Southern blot analysis following reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction, the human B-2 receptor was found to be expressed in most human tissues. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.