A cDNA encoding the precursor of the rat neuropeptide, neurokinin B.

We have isolated a cDNA clone from a rat cerebral cortex library which encodes the 116 amino acid precursor of the neuropeptide, neurokinin B. The precursor has 68% amino acid homology to the bovine precursor and encodes a single peptide of the tachykinin family. Except for possible small variations at both ends of the message, there appears to be only a single species of neurokinin B mRNA in rat cerebral cortex. In situ hybridization histochemistry indicates that the message is widely distributed in the rat brain in a pattern distinct from that of substance P message.