Molecular cloning, characterization, and chromosomal assignment of porcine cationic amino acid transporter-1.

We have cloned and characterized the gene encoding the porcine cationic amino acid transporter, member 1 (CAT-1) (HGMW-approved gene symbol SLC7A1) from porcine pulmonary artery endothelial cells. The porcine SLC7A1 encodes 629 deduced amino acid residues showing a higher degree of sequence similarity with the human counterpart (91.1%) than with the rat (87.3%) and mouse (87.6%) counterparts. Confocal microscopic examination of porcine CAT-1-GFP-expressing HEK293 cells revealed that porcine CAT-1 localizes on the plasma membrane. Amino acid uptake studies in Xenopus oocytes injected with cRNA encoding this protein demonstrated transport properties consistent with system y(+). Radiation hybrid mapping data indicate that the porcine SLC7A1 maps to the distal end of the short arm of pig chromosome 11 (SSC11). This map location is consistent with the known conservation of genome organization between human and pig and provides further confirmation that we have characterized the porcine orthologue of the human SLC7A1.