Molecular structure and function of angiotensin type 2 receptor

Abstract

More than two isoforms have been identified for angiotensin receptors based on their ligand selectivity. The objective of this study is to determine the molecular structure of angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2), whose physiological functions are still an enigma despite extensive studies on its distribution in fetal tissues. We expression-cloned a cDNA of an affinity-purified AT2 from rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12w). The AT2 cDNA clone comprises 2,868 nucleotides and encodes a 363 amino acid protein with seven putative transmembrane domains. The dissociation constant for its binding to 125I-CGP42112A, an AT2-specific ligand, was 0.11 ± 0. 01 nM. Its binding to 0.5 nM 125I-[Sar1, Ile8]-Ang II was not inhibited by Dup 753 but by PD123319 (IC50 = 1.7 ± 0.2 nM). These binding features are characteristic of angiotensin type 2 receptor. The amino acid sequence analysis of the purified AT2 corroborated the amino terminus of the deduced primary structure of AT2. Angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1) is the most closely related to AT2 but with only 32% amino acid sequence identity. Angiotensin II attenuated membrane-associated protein tyrosine phosphatase activity in the COS-7 cells stably expressing AT2 through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. However, the physiological function of AT2 in the fetal kidney is still unresolved.