scholarly journals Identification of an enhancer required for the expression of a mouse major urinary protein gene in the submaxillary gland.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 4244-4252 ◽  
Author(s):  
H J Son ◽  
K Shahan ◽  
M Rodriguez ◽  
E Derman ◽  
F Costantini

The MUP1.5b gene was previously found to be expressed specifically in the submaxillary gland and at high levels when introduced into mice as a transgene including 4.7 kb of 5'-flanking DNA and 0.3 kb of 3'-flanking DNA. To localize regulatory elements responsible for this tissue-specific pattern of expression, we tested the expression of three additional MUP1.5b transgenes including various amounts of 5'-flanking DNA. These experiments indicated that sequences between -1.85 and -3.46 kb from the transcription initiation site were required for high-level expression in the submaxillary gland. The presence of regulatory elements in this region was also suggested by the detection of a DNase I-hypersensitive site, seen only in submaxillary gland nuclei, at position -2.5 kb upstream from the MUP1.5a gene, a member of the same MUP gene subfamily and virtually identical to the MUP1.5b gene. Further evidence for enhancer activity was provided by the ability of the 1.6-kb DNA fragment including sequences between -1.85 and -3.46 kb to stimulate the expression of an otherwise inactive MUP1.5b-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion gene specifically in the submaxillary gland. The nucleotide sequence of this 1.6-kb DNA fragment was found to be identical for the MUP1.5a and MUP1.5b genes. Together, these results provide the first localization of a cis-acting regulatory sequence involved in the differential tissue-specific expression of the MUP gene family.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 4244-4252
Author(s):  
H J Son ◽  
K Shahan ◽  
M Rodriguez ◽  
E Derman ◽  
F Costantini

The MUP1.5b gene was previously found to be expressed specifically in the submaxillary gland and at high levels when introduced into mice as a transgene including 4.7 kb of 5'-flanking DNA and 0.3 kb of 3'-flanking DNA. To localize regulatory elements responsible for this tissue-specific pattern of expression, we tested the expression of three additional MUP1.5b transgenes including various amounts of 5'-flanking DNA. These experiments indicated that sequences between -1.85 and -3.46 kb from the transcription initiation site were required for high-level expression in the submaxillary gland. The presence of regulatory elements in this region was also suggested by the detection of a DNase I-hypersensitive site, seen only in submaxillary gland nuclei, at position -2.5 kb upstream from the MUP1.5a gene, a member of the same MUP gene subfamily and virtually identical to the MUP1.5b gene. Further evidence for enhancer activity was provided by the ability of the 1.6-kb DNA fragment including sequences between -1.85 and -3.46 kb to stimulate the expression of an otherwise inactive MUP1.5b-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion gene specifically in the submaxillary gland. The nucleotide sequence of this 1.6-kb DNA fragment was found to be identical for the MUP1.5a and MUP1.5b genes. Together, these results provide the first localization of a cis-acting regulatory sequence involved in the differential tissue-specific expression of the MUP gene family.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (23) ◽  
pp. 10263-10276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melin Khandekar ◽  
Norio Suzuki ◽  
Jon Lewton ◽  
Masayuki Yamamoto ◽  
James Douglas Engel

ABSTRACT Transcription factor GATA-2 is expressed in a complex temporally and tissue-specific pattern within the developing embryo. Loss-of-function studies in the mouse showed that GATA-2 activity is first required during very early hematopoiesis. We subsequently showed that a 271-kbp yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) transgene could fully complement the loss of Gata2 hematopoietic function but that these YAC-rescued Gata2 null mutant mice die perinatally due to defective urogenital development. The rescuing YAC did not display appropriate urogenital expression of Gata2, implying the existence of a urogenital-specific enhancer(s) lying outside the boundaries of this transgene. Here we outline a coupled general strategy for regulatory sequence discovery, linking bioinformatics to functional genomics based on the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries used to generate the mouse genome sequence. Exploiting this strategy, we screened >1 Mbp of genomic DNA surrounding Gata2 for urogenital enhancer activity. We found that the spatially and tissue-specific functions for Gata2 in the developing urogenital system are conferred by at least three separate regionally and temporally specific urogenital enhancer elements, two of which reside far 3′ to the Gata2 structural gene. Including the additional enhancers that were discovered using this strategy (called BAC trap) extends the functional realm of the Gata2 locus to greater than 1 Mbp.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (17) ◽  
pp. 3725-3734 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Takahashi ◽  
Y. Mitani ◽  
G. Satoh ◽  
N. Satoh

The Brachyury genes of two divergent ascidians, As-T of Halocynthia roretzi and Ci-Bra of Ciona intestinalis, are expressed exclusively in notochord precursor cells. A previous study showed that the notochord-specific expression of Ci-Bra is controlled by a minimal promoter that is composed of three distinct regions: a region responsible for repression of expression in non-notochord mesoderm cells, a region for activation of expression in notochord cells, and a region for activation of expression in non-notochord mesoderm cells, distal to proximal to the transcription initiation site, respectively. We examined various deletion constructs of the As-T/lacZ fusion gene and demonstrate that a module between −289 and −250 bp of the 5′-flanking region is responsible for notochord-specific expression of the reporter gene. Gel-shift assays suggested the binding of nuclear protein(s) to this module. The 5′-flanking region of As-T contains a potential T-binding motif (-ACCTAGGT-) around −160 bp. Deletion of this motif from the p(−289)As-T/lacZ diminished the reporter gene expression. In addition, coinjection of p(−289)As-T/lacZ and synthetic As-T mRNA resulted in ectopic expression of lacZ in non-notochord cells, suggesting that the T-binding motif is responsible for autoactivation of the gene. These findings revealed striking differences between the minimal promoters of As-T and Ci-Bra so far revealed, with respect to their notochord-specific expression. Furthermore, reciprocal injections of reporter gene constructs, namely As-T/lacZ into Ciona eggs and Ci-Bra/lacZ into Halocynthia eggs, suggest alterations in the cis-regulatory elements and trans-activation factors that have occurred during evolution of the two ascidian species.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 2321-2331
Author(s):  
L J Field ◽  
W M Philbrick ◽  
P N Howles ◽  
D P Dickinson ◽  
R A McGowan ◽  
...  

All inbred strains of mice carry the Ren-1 structural gene, which encodes the renin-1 isozyme, the classical renin activity found in kidneys. In addition, some strains carry a second renin structural gene, Ren-2, which encodes the predominantly expressed submaxillary gland renin isozyme, renin-2. Ren-1 and Ren-2 exhibit markedly different patterns of tissue-specific expression. In an effort to understand the molecular basis for this differential expression, detailed analysis of the genomic sequences corresponding to the Ren-1 and Ren-2 genes, and the transcripts originating from these loci, was undertaken. Sequence analysis of regions proximal to the structural genes indicated the presence of eucaryotic consensus sequences for transcription. These sequence motifs were strongly conserved between Ren-1 and Ren-2. Approximately 150 bases upstream from the major transcription initiation site, significant differences between these genes were apparent, including the presence of a repetitive DNA element in the Ren-2 copy as well as other breaks in homology and sequence curiosities. Strong homology between Ren-1 and Ren-2 resumed at a point ca. 200 bases further upstream on Ren-1. S1 analysis of submaxillary gland and kidney RNA populations indicated that the majority of transcripts initiate at homologous positions on Ren-1 and Ren-2. On a per cell basis, the accumulation of Ren-1 transcripts in the kidney and Ren-2 transcripts in the submaxillary gland are probably equivalent. These results suggest that it is tissue-specific utilization of the homologous start sites that is critical to their differential patterns of expression. Models which can account for this observation are presented. Interestingly, we found a minor fraction of transcripts initiating 5' to the major transcription start site. These transcripts encoded an open reading frame which may add an additional 23 amino acids to the N-terminus of the renin precursor.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 2321-2331 ◽  
Author(s):  
L J Field ◽  
W M Philbrick ◽  
P N Howles ◽  
D P Dickinson ◽  
R A McGowan ◽  
...  

All inbred strains of mice carry the Ren-1 structural gene, which encodes the renin-1 isozyme, the classical renin activity found in kidneys. In addition, some strains carry a second renin structural gene, Ren-2, which encodes the predominantly expressed submaxillary gland renin isozyme, renin-2. Ren-1 and Ren-2 exhibit markedly different patterns of tissue-specific expression. In an effort to understand the molecular basis for this differential expression, detailed analysis of the genomic sequences corresponding to the Ren-1 and Ren-2 genes, and the transcripts originating from these loci, was undertaken. Sequence analysis of regions proximal to the structural genes indicated the presence of eucaryotic consensus sequences for transcription. These sequence motifs were strongly conserved between Ren-1 and Ren-2. Approximately 150 bases upstream from the major transcription initiation site, significant differences between these genes were apparent, including the presence of a repetitive DNA element in the Ren-2 copy as well as other breaks in homology and sequence curiosities. Strong homology between Ren-1 and Ren-2 resumed at a point ca. 200 bases further upstream on Ren-1. S1 analysis of submaxillary gland and kidney RNA populations indicated that the majority of transcripts initiate at homologous positions on Ren-1 and Ren-2. On a per cell basis, the accumulation of Ren-1 transcripts in the kidney and Ren-2 transcripts in the submaxillary gland are probably equivalent. These results suggest that it is tissue-specific utilization of the homologous start sites that is critical to their differential patterns of expression. Models which can account for this observation are presented. Interestingly, we found a minor fraction of transcripts initiating 5' to the major transcription start site. These transcripts encoded an open reading frame which may add an additional 23 amino acids to the N-terminus of the renin precursor.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 4293-4308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles K. Kaufman ◽  
Satrajit Sinha ◽  
Diana Bolotin ◽  
Jie Fan ◽  
Elaine Fuchs

ABSTRACT In this report, we explored the mechanisms underlying keratinocyte-specific and differentiation-specific gene expression in the skin. We have identified five keratinocyte-specific, open chromatin regions that exist within the 6 kb of 5′ upstream regulatory sequence known to faithfully recapitulate the strong endogenous keratin 5 (K5) promoter and/or enhancer activity. One of these, DNase I-hypersensitive site (HSs) 4, was unique in that it acted independently to drive abundant and keratinocyte-specific reporter gene activity in culture and in transgenic mice, despite the fact that it was not essential for K5 enhancer activity. We have identified evolutionarily conserved regulatory elements and a number of their associated proteins that bind to this compact and complex enhancer element. The 125-bp 3′ half of this element (referred to as 4.2) is by far the smallest known strong enhancer element possessing keratinocyte-specific activity in vivo. Interestingly, its activity is restricted to a subset of progeny of K5-expressing cells located within the sebaceous gland. The other half of HSs 4 (termed 4.1) possesses activity to suppress sebocyte-specific expression and induce expression in the channel (inner root sheath) cells surrounding the hair shaft. Our findings lead us to a view of keratinocyte gene expression which is determined by multiple regulatory modules, many of which contain AP-2 and/or Sp1/Sp3 binding sites for enhancing expression in skin epithelium, but which also harbor one or more unique sites for the binding of factors which determine specificity. Through mixing and matching of these modules, additional levels of specificity are obtained, indicating that both transcriptional repressors and activators govern the specificity.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2896-2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Sternberg ◽  
G Spizz ◽  
W M Perry ◽  
D Vizard ◽  
T Weil ◽  
...  

Terminal differentiation of skeletal myoblasts is accompanied by induction of a series of tissue-specific gene products, which includes the muscle isoenzyme of creatine kinase (MCK). To begin to define the sequences and signals involved in MCK regulation in developing muscle cells, the mouse MCK gene has been isolated. Sequence analysis of 4,147 bases of DNA surrounding the transcription initiation site revealed several interesting structural features, some of which are common to other muscle-specific genes and to cellular and viral enhancers. To test for sequences required for regulated expression, a region upstream of the MCK gene from -4800 to +1 base pairs, relative to the transcription initiation site, was linked to the coding sequences of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene. Introduction of this MCK-CAT fusion gene into C2 muscle cells resulted in high-level expression of CAT activity in differentiated myotubes and no detectable expression in proliferating undifferentiated myoblasts or in nonmyogenic cell lines. Deletion mutagenesis of sequences between -4800 and the transcription start site showed that the region between -1351 and -1050 was sufficient to confer cell type-specific and developmentally regulated expression on the MCK promoter. This upstream regulatory element functioned independently of position, orientation, or distance from the promoter and therefore exhibited the properties of a classical enhancer. This upstream enhancer also was able to confer muscle-specific regulation on the simian virus 40 promoter, although it exhibited a 3- to 5-fold preference for its own promoter. In contrast to the cell type- and differentiation-specific expression of the upstream enhancer, the MCK promoter was able to function in myoblasts and myotubes and in nonmyogenic cell lines when combined with the simian virus 40 enhancer. An additional positive regulatory element was identified within the first intron of the MCK gene. Like the upstream enhancer, this intragenic element functioned independently of position, orientation, and distance with respect to the MCK promoter and was active in differentiated myotubes but not in myoblasts. These results demonstrate that expression of the MCK gene in developing muscle cells is controlled by complex interactions among multiple upstream and intragenic regulatory elements that are functional only in the appropriate cellular context.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5206-5215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Kamachi ◽  
H Kondoh

Lens-specific expression of the delta 1-crystallin gene is governed by an enhancer in the third intron, and the 30-bp-long DC5 fragment was found to be responsible for eliciting the lens-specific activity. Mutational analysis of the DC5 fragment identified two contiguous, interdependent positive elements and a negative element which overlaps the 3'-located positive element. Previously identified ubiquitous factors delta EF1 bound to the negative element and repressed the enhancer activity in nonlens cells. Mutation and cotransfection analyses indicated the existence of an activator which counteracts the action of delta EF1 in lens cells, probably through binding site competition. We also found a group of nuclear factors, collectively called delta EF2, which bound to the 5'-located positive element. delta EF2a and -b were the major species in lens cells, whereas delta EF2c and -d predominated in nonlens cells. These delta EF2 proteins probably cooperate with factors bound to the 3'-located element in activation in lens cells and repression in nonlens cells. delta EF2 proteins also bound to a promoter sequence of the gamma F-crystallin gene, suggesting that delta EF2 proteins are involved in lens-specific regulation of various crystallin classes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1084-1094
Author(s):  
Z Hanna ◽  
C Simard ◽  
A Laperrière ◽  
P Jolicoeur

The CD4 protein plays a critical role in the development and function of the immune system. To gain more insight into the mechanism of expression of the human CD4 gene, we cloned 42.2 kbp of genomic sequences comprising the CD4 gene and its surrounding sequences. Studies with transgenic mice revealed that a 12.6-kbp fragment of the human CD4 gene (comprising 2.6 kbp of 5' sequences upstream of the transcription initiation site, the first two exons and introns, and part of exon 3) contains the sequences required to support the appropriate expression in murine mature CD4+ CD8- T cells and macrophages but not in immature double-positive CD4+ CD8+ T cells. Expression in CD4+ CD8+ T cells was found to require additional regulatory elements present in a T-cell enhancer fragment recently identified for the murine CD4 gene (S. Sawada and D. R. Littman, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:5506-5515, 1991). These results suggest that expression of CD4 in mature and immature T-cell subsets may be controlled by distinct and independent regulatory elements. Alternatively, specific regulatory elements may control the expression of CD4 at different levels in mature and immature T-cell subsets. Our data also indicate that mouse macrophages contain the regulatory factors necessary to transcribe the human CD4 gene.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadja Makki ◽  
Jingjing Zhao ◽  
Zhaoyang Liu ◽  
Walter L. Eckalbar ◽  
Aki Ushiki ◽  
...  

AbstractAdolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), a sideways curvature of the spine, is the most common pediatric musculoskeletal disorder, affecting ∼3% of the population worldwide. However, its genetic bases and tissues of origin remain largely unknown. Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated nucleotide variants in noncoding sequences that control genes with important roles in cartilage, muscle, bone, connective tissue and intervertebral discs (IVDs) as drivers of AIS susceptibility. Here, we set out to define the expression of AIS-associated genes and active regulatory elements by performing RNA-seq and ChIP-seq against H3K27ac in these tissues in mouse and human. Our study highlights genetic pathways involving AIS-associated loci that regulate chondrogenesis, IVD development and connective tissue maintenance and homeostasis. In addition, we identify thousands of putative AIS-associated regulatory elements which may orchestrate tissue-specific expression in musculoskeletal tissues of the spine. Quantification of enhancer activity of several candidate regulatory elements from our study identifies three functional enhancers carrying AIS-associated GWAS SNPs at the ADGRG6 and BNC2 loci. Our findings provide a novel genome-wide catalog of AIS-relevant genes and regulatory elements and aid in the identification of novel targets for AIS causality and treatment.


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