Jci_page_head_homepage_01 Jci_page_head_homepage_02
Article tools
  • View PDF
  • Cite this article
  • E-mail this article
  • Share this article
  • Send a letter
  • Information on reuse
  • Standard abbreviations
Author information
Need help?

Research Article

Cloning, in vitro expression, and tissue distribution of a human prostaglandin transporter cDNA(hPGT).

R Lu, N Kanai, Y Bao and V L Schuster

Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.

Published September 1, 1996

We recently identified a cDNA in the rat that encodes a broadly expressed PG transporter (PGT). Because PGs play diverse and important roles in human health and disease, we cloned human PGT (hPGT) from an adult human kidney cDNA library. A consensus sequence (4.0 kb) derived from several clones, plus 3' polymerase chain reaction amplification, exhibited 74% nucleic acid identity and 82% amino acid identity compared to rat PGT. When transiently expressed in HeLa cells, a full-length clone catalyzed the transport of PGE1, PGE2, PGD2, PGF2alpha, and, to a lesser degree, TXB2. Northern blotting revealed mRNA transcripts of many different sizes in adult human heart, placenta, brain, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, pancreas, kidney, spleen, prostate, ovary, small intestine, and colon. hPGT mRNAs are also strongly expressed in human fetal brain, lung, liver, and kidney. The broad tissue distribution and substrate profile of hPGT suggest a role in the transport and/or metabolic clearance of PGs in diverse human tissues.