Constitutive expression of the SlP(1) receptor in adult tissues

S1P(1) (also known as EDG-1) is a G-protein coupled receptor for the bioactive lipid, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). Activation of S1P(1) receptor in endothelial cells induces diverse cellular effects, including cell proliferation, survival, migration and morphogenesis. Recent in vivo studies showed that the S1P(1) receptor is required in vascular maturation during development. While a number of studies reported a functional role of S1P(1) in vascular system and the presence of S1P(1) transcripts in various mouse organs, tissue distribution of S1P(1) has not been fully defined. In this study, we determined the expression pattern of S1P(1) by beta-galactosidase reporter gene expression, which is knocked into the S1P(1) focus. We show that S1P(1) is widely expressed in various cell types of adult mouse tissues, suggesting a regulatory role of this receptor in numerous physiological processes in both vascular and non-vascular tissues. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.