Ma. Lee-kirsch et al., Distinct renin isoforms generated by tissue-specific transcription initiation and alternative splicing, CIRCUL RES, 84(2), 1999, pp. 240-246
The aspartyl protease renin catalyzes the initial and rate-limiting step in
the formation of the biologically active peptide angiotensin II. It is mai
nly synthesized in the kidney as a preprohormone and secreted via constitut
ive and regulated pathways. We identified a novel transcript of the rat ren
in gene, renin b, characterized by the presence of an alternative first exo
n (exon 1b) that is spliced to exon 2 of the known transcript, termed renin
a. We demonstrated that renin b is exclusively expressed in the brain. In
contrast, renin a was not expressed in the brain. Using primer extension as
says, we mapped the transcriptional start site of this novel mRNA within in
tron 1 of the rat genomic sequence, suggesting the presence of a brain-spec
ific promoter within intron 1. The presence of a brain-specific renin isofo
rm is evolutionally conserved, as demonstrated by the finding of renin b is
oforms in mice and humans. The predicted protein renin b lacks the prefragm
ent as well as a significant portion of the profragment and is therefore pr
edicted not to be a secreted protein, unlike the classically described isof
orm renin a. As shown by in vitro translation of full-length renin b mRNA i
n the presence of microsomal membranes, renin b was not targeted into the e
ndoplasmatic reticulum and remained intracellularly in transiently transfec
ted AtT-20 cells. These findings provide evidence for a novel pathway of in
tracellular angiotensin generation that occurs exclusively in the brain.