|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Faculty of Life Sciences, Medical School, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
2 School of Cellular and Molecular Biosciences, Division of Physiological Sciences, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom
3 USDA/ARS, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: craig.smith{at}manchester.ac.uk.
The UT-A (SLC14a2) and UT-B (SLC14a1) genes encode a family of specialized urea transporter proteins that regulate urea movement across plasma membranes. In this report we describe the structure of the bovine UT-B gene and characterize UT-B expression in bovine rumen. Northern analysis using a full-length bovine UT-B probe detected a 3.7 kb UT-B signal in rumen. RT-PCR of bovine mRNA revealed the presence of two UT-B splice variants, bUT-B1 and bUT-B2, with bUT-B2 the predominant variant in rumen. Immunoblotting studies of bovine rumen tissue, using an antibody targeted to the N-terminus of mouse UT-B, confirmed the presence of 43-54 kDa UT-B proteins. Immunolocalisation studies showed that UT-B was mainly located on cell plasma membranes in epithelial layers of the bovine rumen. Ussing chamber measurements of ruminal trans-epithelial transport of 14C-labelled urea indicated that urea flux was characteristically inhibited by phloretin. We conclude that bUT-B is expressed in the bovine rumen and may function to transport urea into the rumen as part of the ruminant urea nitrogen salvaging process.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C. K. Reynolds and N. B. Kristensen Nitrogen recycling through the gut and the nitrogen economy of ruminants: An asynchronous symbiosis J Anim Sci, April 1, 2008; 86(14_suppl): E293 - E305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. A. Blount, J. D. Klein, C. F. Martin, D. Tchapyjnikov, and J. M. Sands Forskolin stimulates phosphorylation and membrane accumulation of UT-A3 Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, October 1, 2007; 293(4): F1308 - F1313. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. E. Sunny, S. L. Owens, R. L. Baldwin VI, S. W. El-Kadi, R. A. Kohn, and B. J. Bequette Salvage of blood urea nitrogen in sheep is highly dependent on plasma urea concentration and the efficiency of capture within the digestive tract J Anim Sci, April 1, 2007; 85(4): 1006 - 1013. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. S. Stewart, S. L. King, E. A. Potter, and C. P. Smith Acute regulation of mUT-A3 urea transporter expressed in a MDCK cell line Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, April 1, 2007; 292(4): F1157 - F1163. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. J. Doran, J. D. Klein, Y. H. Kim, T. D. Smith, S. D. Kozlowski, R. B. Gunn, and J. M. Sands Tissue distribution of UT-A and UT-B mRNA and protein in rat Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, May 1, 2006; 290(5): R1446 - R1459. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |