Molecular analysis of the rat inducible nitric oxide synthase genes.

Multiple forms of Nos2 genes were identified in the rat. One Nos2 gene contained a three base deletion in exon 25 and was not expressed in the kidney. The other Nos2 genes did not possess the deletion and were expressed in the kidney. The 5' regulatory region of 2,157 nucleotides for the Nos2 gene was cloned from the Dahl salt-resistant rat and sequenced. It contained a series of simple sequence repeats which were polymorphic among eight rat strains tested. The polymorphic feature makes the Nos2 gene a useful chromosome marker.