title: Alpha 2(I) collagen gene expression is up-regulated in quail chondrocytes pretreated with retinoic acid.
abstract: alpha 2(I) collagen gene expression is induced in quail embryo chondrocytes pretreated with retinoic acid (RA). The initial appearance of alpha 2(I) mRNA occurs around day 3 of culture in RA-free medium and rapidly progresses over the next 4 days. In transient transfection assays, expression of COL1A2-CAT, a chimeric gene bearing 3500 bp upstream the bone/tendon transcription start site from the human alpha 2(I) gene fused to the CAT gene, is stimulated severalfold in RA-treated chondrocytes. In contrast, enzyme activity is very low in untreated chondrocytes, suggesting that the sequences required for RA-induced transcription of the alpha 2(I) gene are present in this plasmid. Analysis of alpha 2(I) promoter sequences performed with deletion mutants gives overlapping results in collagen type I-producing fibroblasts and chondrocytes withdrawn from RA treatment. These experiments suggest that RA-induced transcription of the alpha 2(I) collagen gene in chondrocytes is regulated by the binding of transcription factors to the same regulatory sequences that control transcription in fibroblasts.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche, University of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gionti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arcella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pontarelli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Lorenzo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002356:Cartilage / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003094:Collagen / Q000235:genetics*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D011784:Quail; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014162:Transfection; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014212:Tretinoin; D003094:Collagen; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase