Neurokinin A (substance K) is a peptide neurotransmitter of the tachykinin family with potential as a major mediator in human airway and gastrointestinal tissues. Neurokinin A acts via a receptor (the NK-2 receptor) believed to be localized on smooth muscle cells and pharmacologically coupled to a GTP-binding protein. To characterize the human NK-2 receptor, we prepared a partial cDNA from human tracheal RNA using the polymerase chain reaction with oligonucleotide primers derived from the

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... NK-2 receptor cDNA sequence (Masu, Y., Nakayama, K., Tamaki, H., Harada, Y., Kuno, M., Nakanishi, S. (1987) Nature 329, 836-838). This partial human NK-2 receptor cDNA was used to screen a human genomic DNA library and yielded a clone, NGNK-2, of approximately 25 kilobases. Analysis of NGNK-2 indicates that it contains the entire coding sequence of the NK-2 receptor as well as 5'- and 3'-flanking sequences. The gene is organized with five exons interrupted by four introns. The complete sequence of the exons and the intron-exon junctions was determined, as were the transcription initiation site and the 3'-polyadenylation signal. Analysis of EcoRI digests of genomic DNA from human-mouse cell hybrids indicates a single gene for the human NK-2 receptor localized to chromosome 10. Sequence analysis of exons 1 and 5, where major differences occur between the human and animal species, provided information for polymerase chain reaction primers which allowed us to prepare full-length cDNA for the human NK-2 receptor. The protein predicted from the gene sequence is extended by 14 amino acids at the COOH terminus compared to the bovine and 9 residues compared to the rat molecules. The seven membrane-spanning regions are encoded by exons 1-4 and none is interrupted by introns. These regions are highly conserved among the species studied, suggesting stringent evolutionary control over these molecules.