Abnormal growth of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is central to the pathophysiology of various cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and restenosis after angioplasty. These abnormalities can be manifested as changes in the state of VSMC proliferation, differentiation, gene expression patterns and morphology. Currently, the peptide hormone, angiotensin II (Ang II), is believed to play a pivotal role in the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis since it acts as a growth promoting factor in VSMC. The biological responses to Ang II are mediated by its interaction with two distinct high affinity G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) now designated AT1R and AT2R. While characterizing the human AT1R (hAT1R) gene, it was demonstrated that human tissues can express at least eight alternatively spliced hAT1R mRNA transcripts which differ only in their 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTR). Currently, very little is known about the functional significance of each splice variant or how they are regulated. Therefore, the long term goals of this project are to functionally characterize each splice variant and to investigate the molecular mechanisms that govern the expression of these mRNAs. An understanding of these processes is critical since aberrant transcriptional, post- transcriptional and/or translational regulation of hAT1R gene expression may result in the over-expression of the hAT1R which would lead to exaggerated Ang II responsiveness and possibly result in cardiovascular disease.
The Specific Aims of this proposal are to: 1) Test the hypothesis that hAT1R mRNA splice variants are differentially expressed in human tissues and investigate the transcriptional regulation of the hAT1R gene by the distal and proximal promoter regions, 2) Test the hypothesis that hAT1R mRNA splice variants have distinct mRNA half-lives, which can be regulated by physiological stimuli, 3) Test the hypothesis that hAT1R mRNA splice variants are translated with different efficiencies, 4) Characterize the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) harbored in exon-1 of the hAT1R mRNA 5'-UTR and identify trans-acting factors which recognize this element, and 5) Test the hypothesis that """"""""long"""""""" and """"""""short"""""""" hAT1R isoforms can form hetero-dimers and that these hetero-dimers are functionally distinct.
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