cDNA cloning and localization of OCRL-1 in rabbit kidney

The oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe (OCRL) is a hereditary multisystem disorder characterized by congenital cataracts, mental retardation, renal tubular dysfunction, and progressive renal insufficiency. Tubular abnormalities include proximal tubular dysfunction, a distal acidification defect, and a possible impairment of urinary concentrating ability. The most important renal manifestation of Lowe's syndrome is a progressive loss of kidney function associated with a glomerular lesion that progresses to end-stage renal disease in either the third or fourth decade. The gene responsible for Lowe's syndrome, OCRL-1, was recently identified by positional cloning, and mutations were demonstrated in many affected patients. In the present study reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to clone a partial-length cDNA encoding rabbit renal OCRL-1. There is a high degree of similarity between rabbit and human sequences, with nucleotide and amino acid identities of 92% and 97%, respectively. Northern analysis identified a 5.4-kb transcript that is expressed in both rabbit kidney cortex and medulla. Isolated nephron-segment RT-PCR showed that OCRL-1 is expressed in all segments studied: the glomerulus, proximal tubule, medullary and cortical thick ascending limb, distal convoluted tubule, connecting tubule, cortical collecting duct, and outer medullary collecting duct. Defective OCRL-1 expression in these regions may play a pathogenetic role in the renal manifestations of this syndrome.