A NEW-TYPE SOLUBLE GUANYLYL CYCLASE, WHICH CONTAINS A KINASE-LIKE DOMAIN - ITS STRUCTURE AND EXPRESSION

A new type soluble guanylyl cyclase, designated as ksGC (kinase-Like d omain containing soluble guanylyl cyclase), was identified from a kidn ey cDNA library. By Northern blot analysis, expression of this novel g uanylyl cyclase mRNA was found in lung, kidney and skeletal muscle. Al though ksGC is a soluble type guanylyl cyclasc, it is not a member of soluble alpha or beta guanylyl cyclases. The ksGC contains in its N-te rminal region a protein kinase-like domain, which is usually a charact eristic feature only of particulate type guanylyl cyclases. This uniqu e feature of ksGC suggests a novel pathway of cGMP synthesis. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.