Retrotransposons transcribed preferentially in proximal tubules of salt-hypertensive rats

Retrotransposons transcribed preferentially in proximal tubules of salt-hypertensive rats. Background The kidney is considered to play an important etiologic role in salt-sensitive hypertension. The aim of the present study was to isolate genes whose expression differs between the kidneys of salt-hypertensive and control rats using an mRNA differential display method. Methods Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) and control salt-resistant rats (DR) were fed a 0.3% or 8% NaCl diet. Renal RNA was amplified by RNA arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (RAP-PCR) and compared among DR 0.3%, DR 8%, DS 0.3%, and DS 8%. Gene expression and localization were examined by Northern blotting, RNase protection assay, and in situ hybridization. Full-length nucleotide sequence was determined by screening a DS rat kidney cDNA library. Results We identified one differentially displayed clone, and its expression was greater in DS than DR, which was not affected by salt loading. The sequence was 90% homologous to the 3′-noncoding region of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7 subunit gene. Its expression was kidney-specific, and was localized in the proximal tubules. The transcript level was markedly increased precedent to the development of hypertension. Its expression was also high in other salt-sensitive rats, and low in normotensive Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats. The full-length cDNA contained elements homologous to the retroviral pol gene, a primer binding site sequence for reverse transcriptase, and long-terminal repeats. Conclusion These results demonstrated that the newly identified transcripts (REPT1) belong to a novel retrotransposon family, which showed unique strain-, age-, tissue-, and cell type-specific expression pattern.