Expression of the chicken angiotensin II receptor: atypical pattern compared to its mammalian homologues

We have recently cloned and characterized pharmacologically a chicken angio tensin II receptor (cAT). To evaluate its putative role in developmental pr ocesses, we investigated its spatio-temporal distribution in the chicken em bryo up to E14. The cAT mRNA is expressed in a developmental manner in the mesonephros and allantois, as well as in the heart, branchial arches or lim bs. These results, the first to report the embryonic distribution of an ang iotensin receptor in a non-mammalian species, show that its expression patt ern does not correspond to either one of the two angiotensin receptor types in mammalian species. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights re served.