Abstract

Based on pharmacological, biochemical, and molecular criteria, multiple somatostatin receptor (SSTR) subtypes selective for somatostatin (SST)-14 and -28 have been postulated to exist in both the brain and periphery. We report here on the cloning and characterization of a human gene encoding a new member of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein-linked SSTR family, termed human (h)SSTR4. The 388-amino acid protein, with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 42 kDa, displays sequence similarity, particularly within putative transmembrane domains, with the recently cloned hSSTR1 (69%), hSSTR2 (56%), and hSSTR3 (58%). Membranes prepared from COS-7 cells transiently expressing the hSSTR4 gene bound 125I-[Leu8,D-Trp22,Tyr25]SST-28 in a saturable manner with high affinity (approximately 60 pM) and with a pharmacological profile and rank order of potency ([D-Trp8]SST-14 > SST-14 > SMS 201-995 > SST-28 > MK-678) indicative of a SST-14-selective receptor. Ki values for the inhibition of 125I-[Leu8,D-Trp22,Tyr25]SST-28 binding to the expressed receptor by these somatostatinergic peptides were 0.3, 1.1, 1.4, 2.2, and 6.5 nM, respectively. High affinity agonist binding to hSSTR4 was significantly reduced by GTP and pertussis toxin, indicating association of the expressed receptor with pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding proteins. Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of an SSTR4 mRNA species of approximately 4 kilobases in select regions of the monkey brain, including the hippocampus, hypothalamus, cortex, and striatum, with little or no receptor mRNA detected in either the olfactory tubercle, medulla, cerebellum, or amygdala. The SSTR4 gene maps to human chromosome 20. These findings document the existence of a novel human SSTR gene. Although the hSSTR4 displays an overall deduced amino acid homology of 86% with the recently reported rat homolog [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:11151-11155 (1992)], the two gene products possess distinctive pharmacological profiles and affinities for the SST agonists SMS 201-995 and MK-678.