G Protein Alpha 11 (GNa11)

Gna11 is upstream of Gna15, and the region separating the 2 genes is 6 kb long. Phylogenetic trees revealed an approximately 6-fold higher rate of change in Gna15 than in Gna11. Mouse Gna11 and Gna15 are tandemly duplicated in a head-to-tail array. Gna11, is ubiquitously expressed, whereas expression of the downstream gene, Gna15, is restricted to hematopoietic cells. There was no evidence for alternative splicing within the coding sequence of either gene. G-alpha-q (GNAQ) and G-alpha-11 were required for maintenance of basal blood pressure and for development of salt-induced hypertension. In contrast, lack of G-alpha-12 (GNA12) and G-alpha-13 (GNA13) and their effector, Larg (ARHGEF12), did not alter normal blood pressure regulation, but blocked development of salt-induced hypertension.