CLONING OF RAT AND MOUSE P-2Y PURINOCEPTORS

The cellular responses to ATP are mediated by specific high-affinity receptors designated as Pt purinoceptors, five subclasses of which have been defined pharmacologically - P-2X, P-2Y, P-2U, P-2T, and P-2Z. A cDNA clone encoding a rat P-2Y purinoceptor was isolated from an insulinoma cDNA library. The 373-amino acid rat P-2Y purinoceptor sequence has 85.7% and 37.8% identity with chicken P-2Y and rat P-2U purinoceptors, respectively. The sequence of the mouse P-2Y purinoceptor was also determined and there was 97.1% amino acid identity with the corresponding rat sequence. RNA blotting studies showed that rat P-2Y purinoceptor mRNA was expressed at variable levels in many tissues including heart, brain, spleen, lung, liver, skeletal muscle and kidney, although it was not detected in testis. The cloned rat P-2Y purinoceptor was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and possessed the properties expected for this receptor subtype. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.