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Results for “Locus Control Region”

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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Activation of the beta-globin promoter by the locus control region correlates with binding of a novel factor to the CAAT box in murine erythroleukemia cells but not in K562 cells.

Four distinct factors in extracts from murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells interacted with the human beta-globin gene promoter CAAT box: CP1, GATA-1, and two novel factors, denoted a and b, one of which is highly inducible in the MEL system. GATA-1 binding to the CAAT element was very unstable (half-life < 1 min), whereas bindings of a, b, and CP1 were comparatively stable, with half-lives of 18, 19, and 3.5 min, respectively. Stable transfections of MEL cells showed that in the presence of the beta-globin locus control region (LCR), the wild-type CAAT box, a mutant which bound to GATA-1 with increased stability over the normal sequences, and a mutant which bound a, b, and CP1 specifically could all stimulate transcription greater than ninefold over that induced by a null CAAT mutation in both uninduced and terminally differentiated MEL cells. A mutant which bound the a and b factors specifically gave only a twofold stimulation of promoter activity, and this lower activity correlated with a decrease in the stability of binding of the b protein. On the other hand, CP1 binding alone did not stimulate transcription. Taken together, these results suggest that in the context of the wild-type beta-globin CAAT element the b factor stimulates transcription directed by the LCR in MEL cells, although the LCR can also function through more stable GATA-1-binding sequences. However, in K562 cells, the wild-type beta-globin CAAT box alone was unable to stimulate gene expression directed by the LCR and high levels of transcription were obtained only upon inclusion of more upstream beta-globin promoter sequences. In contrast, a construct containing only the A gamma-globin CAAT box region did give high expression levels in K562 cells. Thus, there is a fundamental difference in the way the LCR functions in these two model systems in terms of its requirements at the promoter level.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A human beta-globin gene fused to the human beta-globin locus control region is expressed at high levels in erythroid cells of mice engrafted with retrovirus-transduced hematopoietic stem cells.

Retroviral-mediated gene transfer of human beta-globin provides a model system for the development of somatic gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies. Previous work has shown that mice receiving a transplant of bone marrow cells infected with a retroviral vector containing the human beta-globin gene can express human beta-globin specifically in erythroid cells; however, the level of expression of the transduced globin gene was low (1% to 2% per gene copy as compared with that of the endogenous mouse beta-globin gene). We report here the construction of a recombinant retrovirus vector encoding a human beta-globin gene fused to the 4 major regulatory elements of the human beta-globin locus control region (LCR). The LCR cassette increases the level of expression of the globin gene in murine erythroleukemia cells by 10-fold. To study the level of expression in vivo, mouse bone marrow cells were infected with virus-producing cells and the transduced cells were injected into lethally irradiated recipients. In the majority of provirus-containing mice (up to 75%), expression of human beta-globin in peripheral blood was detected at least 3 to 6 months after transplantation. Twelve animals representative of the level of expression of the transduced gene in blood (0.04% to 3.2% of the endogenous mouse beta-globin RNA) were selected for further analysis. A range of 0.4% to 12% of circulating erythrocytes stained positive for human beta-globin protein. Based on these values, the level of expression of the transduced gene per cell was estimated to be 10% to 39% of the endogenous mouse beta-globin gene. These data demonstrate that fusion of the LCR to the beta-globin gene in a retroviral vector increases the level of beta-globin expression in murine erythroleukemia cells and suggest that high-level expression can be obtained in erythroid cells in vivo after transduction into hematopoietic stem cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

A role for A/T-rich sequences and Pit-1/GHF-1 in a distal enhancer located in the human growth hormone locus control region with preferential pituitary activity in culture and transgenic mice.

A region located remotely upstream of the human pituitary GH (GH-N) gene and required for efficient GH-N gene expression in the pituitary of transgenic mice was cloned as a 1.6-kb Bg/II (1.6G) fragment. The 1.6G fragment in the forward or reverse orientation increased -496GH-N promoter activity significantly in pituitary GC and GH3 cells after gene transfer. The 1.6G fragment was also able to stimulate activity from a minimal thymidine kinase (TK) promoter which, unlike -496GH-N, lacked any Pit-1/GHF-1 element. Enhancer activity was localized by deletion analysis to a 203-bp region in the 3'-end of the 1.6G fragment and was characterized by the presence of a diffuse 136-bp nuclease-protected site, observed with pituitary (GC) but not nonpituitary (HeLa) cell nuclear protein. A major low-mobility complex was observed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) with GC cell nuclear protein, and the pattern was distinct from that seen with a HeLa cell extract. The nuclease-protected region contains three A/T-rich Pit-1/ GHF-1-like elements, and their disruption, in the context of the 203-bp region fused to the TK promoter, reduced enhancer activity significantly in pituitary cells in culture. A mutation in this region was also shown to decrease enhancer activity in transgenic mice and correlated with a decrease in the 203-bp enhancer region complex observed by EMSA. The participation of Pit-1/GHF-1 in this complex is indicated by competition studies with Pit-1/GHF-1 elements and antibodies, and direct binding of Pit-1/GHF-1 to the A/T-rich sequences was shown by EMSA using recombinant protein. These studies link the A/T-rich sequences to the distal enhancer activity associated with the GH locus control region in vitro and in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

A distant upstream locus control region is critical for expression of the Kit receptor gene in mast cells.

The Kit receptor tyrosine kinase functions in hematopoiesis, melanogenesis, and gametogenesis and in interstitial cells of Cajal. We previously identified two upstream hypersensitive site (HS) clusters in mast cells and melanocytes. Here we investigated the roles of these 5' HS sequences in Kit expression using transgenic mice carrying Kit-GFP reporter constructs. In these mice there is close correspondence between Kit-GFP reporter and endogenous Kit gene expression in most tissues analyzed. Deletion analysis defined the 5' upstream HS cluster region as critical for Kit expression in mast cells. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis in mast cells showed that H3 and H4 histone hyperacetylation and RNA polymerase II recruitment within the Kit promoter and in the 5' HS region were associated with Kit expression. Therefore, the 5' upstream hypersensitivity sites appear to be critical components of locus control region-mediated Kit gene activation in mast cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Augmentation of gamma-globin gene promoter activity by carboxylic acids and components of the human beta-globin locus control region.

Butyric acid increases fetal hemoglobin synthesis in adult animals and in erythroid cells in culture and induces the gamma-globin gene promoter in transient expression experiments in K562 cells (McDonagh KT, Nienhuis AW, Blood 78:255a, 1992 [abstr, suppl 1]). We compared the effect of butyrate and other short-chain carboxylic acids in transient expression studies with K562 cells using an expression plasmid bearing a luciferase reporter gene driven by the normal human A gamma-globin gene promoter. Butyrate (4 carbons) increased the activity of the human A gamma-globin gene promoter up to 123 times. Marked augmentation of the normal gamma-promoter activity was also noted with 5-carbon valeric acid (up to 394 times) and 3-carbon propionic acid (up to 129 times). The branched isobutyric acid as well as phenylacetate showed less ability to increase promoter activity. Addition of the tandemly repeated AP-1/NF-E2 (AP) enhancer sequences from hypersensitive site 2 (HS2) of the locus control region (LCR) increased gamma-promoter activity up to 24 times. Addition of a nearby 16-bp conserved motif (CM) in HS2 (Safaya S, Rieder RF, Blood 78:146a, 1992 [abstr, suppl 1]) to the AP-containing plasmid construct further increased gamma-promoter activity. In the presence of butyrate, the plasmid bearing both the AP and CM sequences showed gene expression up to 477 times greater than that of the basal gamma-promoter-driven luciferase plasmid in the absence of inducer. A plasmid bearing the herpes simplex thymidine kinase promoter was also tested and gene expression was markedly increased by the same organic acids. MEL cells responded to butyrate, valerate, and propionate with induction of hemoglobin synthesis. Responses to isobutyrate and 6-carbon caproate required higher concentrations of the compounds. Thus, other short-chain organic acids as well as butyrate increase gamma-promoter activity in the transient expression system, and this activity can be further augmented by incorporating LCR elements into the expression vector. Nonglobin promoters also respond to the same carboxylic acids.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Analysis of conserved domains and sequence motifs in cellular regulatory proteins and locus control regions using new software tools for multiple alignment and visualization.

With the tremendous expansion of molecular sequence data in recent years, multiple alignment is arguably one of the two most important analytic techniques (the other being fast database searching). A number of useful approaches to this problem have previously been developed, but often they are limited to only a subset of multiple-alignment applications and cannot easily deal with the complex structural organization seen in an increasing number of sequences. For example, a single sequence may contain several domains of different evolutionary origins, and the multiplicities and relative ordering of these domains may be quite different among related sequences. Here we describe an integrated set of interactive Unix tools that combines several multiple-alignment techniques with traditional "dot-plot" visualization to provide a flexible environment for approaching complex sequence analysis problems. We apply these tools to the identification and characterization of "catalytic" domains in ras and rho/rac GTPase-activating proteins, to "Src homology" (SH2, SH3) domains in cytoplasmic signaling proteins, to repetitive sequence motifs in the alpha and beta subunits of protein prenyltransferases, and to regulatory DNA sequences in the locus control region of the beta-globin gene cluster.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed1991

Deletion analysis of the human CD2 gene locus control region in transgenic mice.

Genomic sequences located at the 3' flanking region of the human CD2 gene confer high level tissue-specific, position-independent expression of the gene when introduced in the germ line of mice. In order to further characterize these sequences a range of deletions, from the 3' end were produced and transgenic mice were generated with the human CD2 (hCD2) gene linked to these deleted fragments. This allowed us to establish the minimum sequences necessary for the copy-dependent transgene expression. 2.1 kb or 1.5 kb of 3' flanking sequences linked to a hCD2 mini-gene is sufficient to allow T-cell specific, copy-dependent, integration-independent expression in transgenic mice. 1.1 kb of 3' sequences results in the gene being expressed in a T-cell specific manner, but copy-dependent, integration-independent expression was not observed in a small number of transgenic animals. 0.2 or 0.5 kb of 3' flanking sequences were insufficient to allow expression above the level previously found with a human CD2 gene which lacked 3' flanking sequences. We conclude that the Locus Control Region (LCR) effect is caused by 1.5 kb of flanking sequences immediately 3' to the polyadenylation signal of the gene.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Retroviral transfer of a human beta-globin/delta-globin hybrid gene linked to beta locus control region hypersensitive site 2 aimed at the gene therapy of sickle cell disease.

Human gamma-globin and delta-globin chains have been previously identified as strong inhibitors of the polymerization of hemoglobin S, in contrast to the beta-globin chain, which exerts only a moderate antisickling effect. However, gamma-globin and delta-globin are normally expressed at very low levels in adult erythroid cells, in contrast to beta-globin. We report the design of a beta-globin/delta-globin hybrid gene, beta/delta-sickle cell inhibitor 1 (beta/delta-SCI1) and its transduction by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer. The beta/delta-SCI1-encoding gene retains the overall structure of the human beta-globin gene, while incorporating specific amino acid residues from the delta chain previously found responsible for its enhanced antisickling properties. To achieve high expression levels of beta/delta-SCI1 in adult erythrocytes, the hybrid gene was placed under the transcriptional control of the human beta-globin promoter and the DNase I hypersensitive site 2 of the human beta locus control region. High-titer retroviruses were generated, and stable proviral transmission was achieved in infected cells. The mRNA expression levels of the beta/delta-SCI1 gene in infected, dimethyl sulfoxide-induced murine erythroleukemia cells approached 85% of the endogenous murine beta maj-globin mRNA, on a per gene basis, evidence that high gene expression levels were achieved in adult erythroid cells. Further evaluation of this strategy in transgenic animal models of sickle cell disease should assess its efficacy for the gene therapy of human patients.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2003

Regulation of the Th2 cytokine locus by a locus control region.

The Th2 cytokine genes IL4, IL5, and IL13 are clustered and expressed in a cell lineage-specific manner. We investigated the global locus-specific regulation of these genes using BAC transgenic mice containing the murine Th2 cytokine cluster carrying an IL4 promoter-luciferase reporter. IL4 promoter activity in effector CD4 T cells from these transgenic mice was strong, Th2 specific, and copy number dependent, suggesting the presence of an LCR in the locus. The production of IL4 and IL13, but not IL5, by these cells was also copy number dependent. Deletion analysis defined a 25 kb fragment in the RAD50 gene as the region containing the LCR activity. Expression of the IL4 promoter-luciferase reporter was transactivated by GATA-3 irrespective of position in the locus, suggesting the global nature of this regulation. The LCR itself, however, does not respond directly to GATA-3.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Association of the 5'HS4 sequence of the chicken beta-globin locus control region with human EF1 alpha gene promoter induces ubiquitous and high expression of human CD55 and CD59 cDNAs in transgenic rabbits.

Whatever its field of application, animal transgenesis aims at a high level of reproducible and stable transgene expression. In the case of xenotransplantation, prevention of hyperacute rejection of grafts of animal origin requires the use of organs expressing human inhibitors of complement activation such as CD55 (DAF) and CD59. Pigs transgenic for these molecules have been produced, but with low and variable levels of expression. In order to improve cDNA expression, a vector containing the 5'HS4 region from the LCR of the chicken beta-globin locus and the promoter and the first intron from the human EF1 alpha gene, was used to co-express human CD55 and CD59 cDNAs in transgenic rabbits. The transgenic lines with the 5'HS4 region displayed dramatically enhanced CD55 and CD59 mRNA concentrations in brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, muscle, spleen and aortic endothelial cells in comparison with the transgenic lines without the 5'HS4 region. In the absence of the 5'HS4 region, only some of the transgenic lines displayed specific mRNAs and at low levels. Human CD55 and CD59 proteins were detectable in mononuclear cells from transgenic rabbits although at a lower level than in human mononuclear cells. On the other hand, primary aortic endothelial cells from a bi-transgenic line were very efficiently protected in vitro against human complement-dependent lysis. Transgenic rabbits harbouring the two human inhibitors of complement activation, CD55 and CD59, can therefore be used as new models in xenotransplantation. Moreover, the vector containing the 5'HS4 region from the LCR of the chicken beta-globin locus seems appropriate not only for xenotransplantation but also for any other studies involving transgenic animals in which cDNAs have to be expressed at a high level in all cell types.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Study of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the palindromic sequence of hypersensitive site (HS)4 of the human beta-globin locus control region (LCR) in Indian population.

LCR, a genetic regulatory element, was examined in beta-thalassemia patients who do not show any mutation in the beta-globin genes. We sequenced LCR-HS2, HS3, and HS4 in samples from 16 such patients from the Indian population and found only one SNP A-G in the inverted repeat in HS4. A significant association was observed between the G allele and occurrence of beta-thalassemia by Fisher's exact test. The AG and GG genotypes showed higher relative risk as compared to the AA genotype. We also observed linkage disequilibrium between the A/G polymorphism and the AT-rich motif of the LCR HS2 region, suggesting that the G allele could be an evolutionarily new mutation in the study population.

Globins↗
PubMed2006

Structural polymorphism exhibited by a quasipalindrome present in the locus control region (LCR) of the human beta-globin gene cluster.

Structural polymorphism of DNA is a widely accepted property. A simple addition to this perception has been our recent finding, where a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site present in a quasipalindromic sequence of beta-globin LCR exhibited a hairpin-duplex equilibrium. Our current studies explore that secondary structures adopted by individual complementary strands compete with formation of a perfect duplex. Using gel-electrophoresis, ultraviolet (UV)-thermal denaturation, circular dichroism (CD) techniques, we have demonstrated the structural transitions within a perfect duplex containing 11 bp quasipalindromic stretch (TGGGG(G/C)CCCCA), to hairpins and bulge duplex forms. The extended version of the 11 bp duplex, flanked by 5 bp on both sides also demonstrated conformational equilibrium between duplex and hairpin species. Gel-electrophoresis confirms that the duplex coexists with hairpin and bulge duplex/cruciform species. Further, in CD spectra of duplexes, presence of two overlapping positive peaks at 265 and 285 nm suggest the features of A- as well as B-type DNA conformation and show oligomer concentration dependence, manifested in A --> B transition. This indicates the possibility of an architectural switching at quasipalindromic region between linear duplex to a cruciform structure. Such DNA structural variations are likely to be found in the mechanics of molecular recognition and manipulation by proteins.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2002

The interaction between the human beta-globin locus control region and nuclear matrix.

Our previous study showed that hydroxyurea (Hu) could induce HEL cells to express human beta-globin gene. However the molecular mechanisms by which the expression of beta-globin gene is activated and regulated are poorly understood. Here we show that the binding patterns between the core DNA sequences (HS2 core sequence -10681 approximately -10971 bp, HS3 core sequence -14991 approximately -14716 bp and HS4 core sequence -18586 approximately -18306 bp) of DNase I hypersensitive sites in the human beta-globin LCR and nuclear matrix proteins isolated from Hu induced and uninduced HEL cells are quite different. Results demonstrated that nuclear matrix proteins might play important roles in regulating the expression of human beta-like globin genes through their interaction with HSs (HS2, HS3 and HS4 core sequences) in the LCR. Moreover, the results obtained from the in vitro DNA-matrix binding assay showed that the core DNA sequences of DNase I hypersensitive sites (HS2, HS3 and HS4) were unable to bind to the nuclear matrix isolated from uninduced HEL cells; in addition, HS2 core DNA sequence was capable of binding to the nuclear matrix prepared from Hu-induced HEL cells, while both HS3 and HS4 core DNA sequences could not do so. Results indicated that the HS2 core DNA sequence may be a functional MAR (matrix attachment region). We suggest that the HS2 core DNA sequence binding to the nuclear matrix in Hu-induced HEL cells may open the structure of chromatin to make the LCR accessible to the promoter of beta-globin gene and to promote its transcription.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2003

The beta -globin locus control region (LCR) functions primarily by enhancing the transition from transcription initiation to elongation.

To investigate the molecular basis of beta-globin gene activation, we analyzed factor recruitment and histone modification at the adult beta-globin gene in wild-type (WT)/locus control region knockout (DeltaLCR) heterozygous mice and in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Although histone acetylation and methylation (Lys 4) are high before and after MEL differentiation, recruitment of the erythroid-specific activator NF-E2 to the promoter and preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly occur only after differentiation. We reported previously that targeted deletion of the LCR reduces beta-globin gene expression to 1%-4% of WT without affecting promoter histone acetylation. Here, we report that NF-E2 is recruited equally efficiently to the adult beta-globin promoters of the DeltaLCR and WT alleles. Moreover, the LCR deletion reduces PIC assembly only twofold, but has a dramatic effect on Ser 5 phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II and transcriptional elongation. Our results suggest at least three distinct stages in beta-globin gene activation: (1) an LCR-independent chromatin opening stage prior to NF-E2 recruitment to the promoter and PIC assembly; (2) an intermediate stage in which NF-E2 binding (LCR-independent) and PIC assembly (partially LCR-dependent) occur; and (3) an LCR-dependent fully active stage characterized by efficient pol II elongation. Thus, in its native location the LCR functions primarily downstream of activator recruitment and PIC assembly.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Analysis of mice containing a targeted deletion of beta-globin locus control region 5' hypersensitive site 3.

To examine the function of murine beta-globin locus region (LCR) 5' hypersensitive site 3 (HS3) in its native chromosomal context, we deleted this site from the mouse germ line by using homologous recombination techniques. Previous experiments with human 5' HS3 in transgenic models suggested that this site independently contains at least 50% of total LCR activity and that it interacts preferentially with the human gamma-globin genes in embryonic erythroid cells. However, in this study, we demonstrate that deletion of murine 5' HS3 reduces expression of the linked embryonic epsilon y- and beta H 1-globin genes only minimally in yolk sac-derived erythroid cells and reduces output of the linked adult beta (beta major plus beta minor) globin genes by approximately 30% in adult erythrocytes. When the selectable marker PGK-neo cassette was left within the HS3 region of the LCR, a much more severe phenotype was observed at all developmental stages, suggesting that PGK-neo interferes with LCR activity when it is retained within the LCR. Collectively, these results suggest that murine 5' HS3 is not required for globin gene switching; importantly, however, it is required for approximately 30% of the total LCR activity associated with adult beta-globin gene expression in adult erythrocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Promoters of the murine embryonic beta-like globin genes Ey and betah1 do not compete for interaction with the beta-globin locus control region.

Mammalian beta-globin loci contain multiple beta-like genes that are expressed at different times during development. The murine beta-globin locus contains two genes expressed during the embryo stage, Ey and betah1, and two genes expressed at both the fetal and postnatal stages, beta-major and beta-minor. Studies of transgenic human beta-like globin loci in mice have suggested that expression of one gene at the locus will suppress expression of other genes at the locus. To test this hypothesis we produced mouse lines with deletions of either the Ey or betah1 promoter in the endogenous murine beta-globin locus. Promoter deletion eliminated expression of the mutant gene but did not affect expression of the remaining embryonic gene or the fetal-adult beta-globin genes on the mutant allele. These results demonstrate a lack of competitive effects between individual mouse embryonic beta-globin gene promoters and other genes in the locus. The implication of these findings for models of beta-globin gene expression are discussed.

Alleles↗