Identification of the α1C-adrenoceptor in rabbit arteries and the human saphenous vein using the polymerase chain reaction

Abstract The expression of the α 1C -adrenoceptor subtype in human and rabbit blood vessels has been analyzed using the reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction technique (RT/PCR). The 20 bp primers employed were designed from the bovine α 1C -adrenoceptor and flank a least conserved region — the putative third cytoplasmic loop. RT/PCR products generated from rabbit and human brain mRNA both had 93% homology to the bovine α 1C -adrenoceptor and were used as species and subtype specific probes in Southern blot analysis of vascular RT/PCR products. Poly A + RNA was purified from the human saphenous vein and rabbit aorta, renal, pulmonary and central ear arteries and amplified by RT/PCR. Size analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis, together with Southern hybridization of the resulting cDNA products confirm the expression of the α 1C -adrenoceptor in these vessels.