title: Inactivation of the Zfx gene on the mouse X chromosome.
abstract: ZFX, an X chromosome-linked gene encoding a zinc-finger protein, has previously been shown to escape X inactivation in humans. Here we report studies of the inactivation status of the homolog, Zfx, on the mouse X chromosome. We took advantage of both the preferential inactivation of the normal X chromosome in females carrying the T(X;16)16H translocation and the high degree of nucleotide sequence variation between the laboratory strain of mouse [corrected] and Mus spretus genomes. An EcoRV restriction fragment difference between laboratory strain of mouse [corrected] and M. spretus was detected after amplification of Zfx transcripts using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Using this allelic variation, we assessed expression of the two Zfx genes in females carrying the T(X;16)16H translocation (from laboratory strain of mouse [corrected]) and an intact X chromosome (from M. spretus). Such females exhibit Zfx transcription from the active laboratory strain of mouse [corrected] chromosome but not from the inactive M. spretus chromosome. These results indicate that the mouse Zfx gene is subject to X inactivation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bressler
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Disteche
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009115:Muridae / Q000235:genetics; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D009928:Organ Specificity; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014178:Translocation, Genetic; D014960:X Chromosome; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes