Complementary DNA clones encoding the entire rat 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor were isolated, and the total 423-amino acid sequence was deduced. The amino acid sequence of the rat receptor is similar but not identical to the reported human receptor sequence. The cysteine-rich DNA-binding domain is completely conserved and the steroidbinding domain is >93% conserved between rat and human. The cDNA was used as a probe in blot analysis of polyadenylylated RNA to show that the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor mRNA is a single 4.4-kilobase mRNA that is expressed in intestine and kidney, slightly expressed in heart, and not detectable in liver and spleen. The receptor mRNA concentration is markedly increased during development of the rat intestine between day 14 and day 21, in accord with previous results obtained by measurement of receptor concentration by ligand binding or immunoblotting.The primary function of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D, is to increase serum calcium and phosphorus (1, 2). The action of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is mediated through an intracellular receptor protein that is present in target tissues at a very low concentration, -0.001% (3,4). This receptor binds 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and then interacts with specific sites in chromatin, resulting in specific gene transcription. These gene products then effect calcium transport in the intestine and cause calcium mobilization from bone and calcium reabsorption in kidney (1,2).The importance of a functional receptor is clearly demonstrated through the disease vitamin D-dependent rickets type II (5, 6). Patients with this disease suffer impaired calcium absorption despite high circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. A defective receptor has been reported to be the cause in at least some kindrids (7).Monoclonal antibodies against the receptor have been isolated (8). The receptor has a molecular weight of 55,000 when identified by these antibodies on an immunoblot (9, 10). A partial cDNA for the rat receptor was isolated by screening a kidney Agtll expression library with these antibodies (11). When expressed in Escherichia coli, this cDNA produced a region of the receptor capable of specifically binding 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, confirming the authenticity of the clone. In addition, a partial cDNA for the avian receptor (12) and the complete cDNA for the human receptor (13) have been sequenced.We report here the nucleotide sequence and the predicted amino acid sequence for the complete rat receptor. § Comparison of the rat sequence to the human sequence shows that the receptor has remained highly conserved between the two species. The cloned cDNA was used to study the regulation of receptor gene transcription. A single 4.4-kilobase (kb) receptor mRNA is expressed in the intestine, kidney, and heart of adult rats. This mRNA is not detectable in preparations isolated from intestine of 14-day-old rat, but by day 21, it has increased substantially.MATERIALS AND METHODS RNA Isolation. RNA was prepared by the pr...