Neuronal specificity of the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor promoter develops during morphogenesis of the central nervous system.
A transient transfection assay has been developed to analyse promoter activity in neuronal cells freshly dissociated from the chick central nervous system. The assay enabled us to identify cis-acting regulatory elements within the 5'-flanking region of the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene. In differentiated retina, regulatory elements direct reporter gene expression to a small subset of neurons which has been identified as ganglion cells, i.e. to the population of neurons in which alpha 7 transcripts were localized by in situ hybridization. However, these promoter elements exhibit ubiquitous activity in undifferentiated neural cells and in mesodermal stem cells. Our study supports the idea that alpha 7 regulatory elements acquire their neuronal specificity in the course of embryogenesis.
Matter-Sadzinski
L
L
Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Hernandez
M C
MC
Roztocil
T
T
Ballivet
M
M
Matter
J M
JM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002642:Chick Embryo; D004247:DNA; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D004247:DNA