Structural features of the 5' region of the human erbB-2 gene.
The human erbB-2 gene encodes a receptor protein tyrosine kinase which has strong growth-promoting properties. Overexpression of erbB-2 is directly associated with tumor cell growth in vivo and in vitro. To investigate structural features which may contribute to expression, we isolated and sequenced a 3.65-kb 5' promoter fragment of the human erbB-2 gene. This 5' fragment contains an exceptionally high density of four Alu sequences. Other structural features include an A + T-rich region that causes DNA bending, as measured by anomalously slow migration in polyacrylamide gels. These structural features of the 5' region of erbB-2 may contribute to expression of the gene in different growth states.
Ertl
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AP
Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0650.
Gill
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D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D004247:DNA; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases