Keith Albrandt

Molecular cloning of two receptors from rat brain with high affinity for salmon calcitonin

Two receptors with high affinity for salmon calcitonin were cloned from the nucleus accumbens region of rat brain. The deduced 479 amino acid sequence of cDNA clone L2175‐D20 (designated Cla receptor) is 78% and 66% identical with those reported for human and porcine calcitonin receptors, respectively. Clone U3237‐A2 codes for a receptor (designated Clb) that is identical to Cla except for a 37 amino acid insert in the second extracellular domain. COS‐7 cells transfected with either transcript bound [125I]salmon calcitonin with high affinity (K d = 8 pM for Cla; K d = 48 pM for Clb) and responded to salmon calcitonin with increases in cAMP. Tissue distribution studies revealed Cla transcript in rat brain, skeletal muscle, kidney and lung, whereas Clb was predominantly found in brain.

Nucleotide sequence of a cDNA for canine amylin

Canine amylin cDNA was cloned and sequenced from a dog pancreas library using oligonucleotide probes corresponding to portions of human amylin. The sequence reported here is significantly different from an incomplete sequence previously reported. The non-amyloidogenic canine mature peptide is 89% and 95% identical to its amyloidogenic human and cat homologues, respectively. Both the dog and cat peptides are identical over the proposed amyloidogenic region, amino acids 20-29. Hydropathy plots comparing these three peptides are nearly identical suggesting that the primary sequence of amylin is in itself insufficient to explain pancreatic amyloid formation.