Molecular Cloning, Tissue Distribution and Expression of Porcine y+L Amino Acid Transporter-1

In this study, we cloned, sequenced and characterized porcine y+L Amino Acid Transporter-1 (y+LAT1). By screening a translated EST database with the protein sequence of the human y+LAT1 and by using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), the full-length cDNA encoding porcine y+LAT1 was isolated from porcine intestine RNA. It was 2,111 bp long, encoding a 511 amino acid trans-membrane glycoprotein composed of 12 transmembrane domains. The predicted amino acid sequence was found to be 91%, 90%, 87% and 87% identical to those of cattle, human, mouse and rat y+LAT1 respectively. Real-time RT-PCR results indicated that the small intestine had the highest y+LAT1 mRNA abundance and the lung had the lowest y+LAT1 mRNA abundance. Baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged porcine y+LAT1 cDNA indicated that the cellular localization of the gene product in BHK was on the plasma membrane. KCI Citation Count: 3