title: Pax-6 and lens-specific transcription of the chicken delta 1-crystallin gene.
abstract: The abundance of delta-crystallin in the chicken eye lens provides an advantageous marker for tissue-specific gene expression during cellular differentiation. The lens-specific expression of the delta 1-crystallin gene is governed by an enhancer in the third intron, which binds a positive (delta EF2) and negative (delta EF1) factor in its core region. Here we show by DNase I footprinting, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, and cotransfection experiments with the delta 1-promoter/enhancer fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene that the delta 1-crystallin enhancer has two adjacent functional Pax-6 binding sites. We also demonstrate by DNase I footprinting that the delta EF1 site can bind the transcription factor USF, raising the possibility that USF may cooperate with Pax-6 in activation of the chicken delta 1- and alpha A-crystallin genes. These data, coupled with our recent demonstration that Pax-6 activates the alpha A-crystallin gene, suggest that Pax-6 may have been used extensively throughout evolution to recruit and express crystallin genes in the lens.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-2730, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cvekl
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sax
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piatigorsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003459:Crystallins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D005136:Eye Proteins; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D009928:Organ Specificity; D000071841:PAX6 Transcription Factor; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D003459:Crystallins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D000071841:PAX6 Transcription Factor; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors; C000605732:Pax6 protein, mouse; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D001616:beta-Galactosidase