title: Cloning and functional expression of human endothelin-converting enzyme cDNA.
abstract: Endothelin (ET) is a 21-residue potent vasoconstrictive peptide produced by vascular endothelial cells and formed from its precursor, big endothelin (big ET), by endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE). This paper describes the cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding a human ECE from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Human ECE consists of 758 amino acid residues and has high homology to rat and bovine ECE. Immunoblot analysis using a monoclonal antibody risen against rat lung ECE showed the presence of immunoreactive protein in membrane fraction prepared from both HUVEC and COS-1 cells transfected with human ECE cDNA. Both COS-1 cells expressing human ECE and its membrane fraction converted big ET-1 most efficiently among big ETs.
authors.affiliation: Biological Research Laboratories, Sankyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iijima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanzawa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D019332:Endothelin-1; D000072396:Endothelin-Converting Enzymes; D016232:Endothelins / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology*; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007668:Kidney; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014162:Transfection; D014471:Umbilical Veins
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019332:Endothelin-1; D016232:Endothelins; D011498:Protein Precursors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D000072396:Endothelin-Converting Enzymes