SEQUENCE OF THE 5'-FLANKING AND 5'-UTR REGIONS OF THE RAT ENDOTHELIN-A RECEPTOR GENE

Endothelin receptors bind peptides of the endothelin family, the most potent vasoconstrictors known, and have been implicated in hypertensio n. To begin to define DNA sequences necessary for the transcriptional regulation of the rat endothelin type A receptor (ET(A)), we have sequ enced the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and part of the 5'-flanking reg ion, a total of 1153 nucleotides. Comparison of the rat and human sequ ences revealed a 57% similarity in the 5'-flanking sequences, and a 63 % similarity in the 5'-UTRs. Several conserved sequences were identifi ed, including GATA and E-boxes, which may be important for the regulat ion of ET(A) gene expression. Primer extension analysis identified two transcription initiation sites within the rat gene.