We have isolated and characterized cDNA clones encoding the human and
rat Na,K-ATPase beta 3 subunit isoform, The human cDNA encodes a polyp
eptide of 279 amino acids that exhibits primary sequence and secondary
structure similarities to Na,K-ATPase beta subunit isoforms. Sequence
comparisons showed that the human beta 3 subunit closely resembles th
e beta 3 subunit of Xenopus laevis (59% amino acid identity) and is le
ss similar to the human Na,K-ATPase beta 1 and beta 2 subunits (38% an
d 48% amino acid identity, respectively). By analyzing the segregation
of restriction fragment length polymorphisms among recombinant inbred
strains of mice, we localized the beta 3 subunit gene to murine chrom
osome 7. Northern blot analysis revealed that the beta 3 subunit gene
encodes two transcripts that are expressed in a variety of rat tissues
including testis, brain, kidney, lung, stomach, small intestine, colo
n, spleen, and liver. Identification of the mammalian beta 3 subunit s
uggests an even greater potential for Na,K-ATPase isoenzyme diversity
than previously realized.