Molecular cloning and chromosomal localization of human genes encoding three closely related G protein-coupled receptors.

Cosmids containing human genes for three orphan G protein-coupled receptors, GPR12, GPR6, and GPR3, were isolated using their rat homologs as probes. Previous studies of the mouse and rat cDNAs have shown the receptors to be expressed primarily in brain but have failed to identify their ligands. The three receptor proteins of 334, 363, and 330 amino acids, respectively, are encoded by a single exon in each gene. Excluding the divergent sequences preceding the first transmembrane domain, they have approximately 60% amino acid identity with each other. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of GPR12, GPR6, and GPR3 localized these three genes to human chromosomal regions 13q12, 6q21, and 1p34.3-p36.1, respectively.