Cloning and Expression of a Rabbit cDNA Encoding a Serum-activated

A unique Na+/H+ exchanger isoform, NHE-2, was cloned and characterized. NHE-2 is a protein of 809 amino acids with a calculated size of 90,787. It exhibits overall amino acid identity of 50, 44, and 60% with other cloned mammalian Na+/H+ exchangers NHE-1, NHE-3, and NHE-4, respectively. Northern blot analysis of poly(A+) RNA isolated from rabbit ileum, kidney cortex, and kidney medulla using NHE-2 cDNA as a probe revealed messages of 6.2,4.2, and 3.2 kilobases with relative abundance (in descending order) kidney medulla > kidney cortex > ileum. More detailed tissue distribution of message was performed by ribonuclease protection assay. NHE-2 was predominantly expressed in kidney, intestine, and adrenal gland with a small amount in skeletal muscle and trachea. Stable expres