Expression of voltage-gated K+ channels in insulin-producing cells. Analysis by polymerase chain reaction.
Betsholtz C., Baumann A., Kenna S., Ashcroft FM., Ashcroft SJ., Berggren PO., Grupe A., Pongs O., Rorsman P., Sandblom J.
We have used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers against the S5 and S6 regions of voltage-gated K+ channels to identify 8 different specific amplification products using poly(A)+ RNA isolated from islets of Langerhans from obese hyperglycemic (ob/ob) mice and from the two insulin-producing cell lines HIT T15 and RINm5F. Sequence analysis suggests that they derive from mRNAs coding for a family of voltage-gated K+ channels; 5 of these have been recently identified in mammalian brain and 3 are novel. These hybridize in classes to different mRNAs which distribute differently to a number of tissues and cell lines including insulin-producing cells.