The complete amino acid sequence of a novel ryanodine receptor/calcium release channel from rabbit brain has been deduced by cloning and sequence analysis of the EDNA. This protein is composed of 4872 amino acids and shares characteristic structural features with the skeletal muscle and cardiac ryanodine receptors. RNA blot hybridization analysis shows that the brain ryanodine receptor is abundantly expressed in corpus striatum, thalamus and hippocampus, whereas the cardiac ryanodine receptor is more uniformly expressed in the brain. The brain ryanodine receptor gene is transcribed also in smooth muscle.
