The proximal promoter of the mouse arrestin gene directs gene expression in photoreceptor cells and contains an evolutionarily conserved retinal factor-binding site.
Regulatory sequences and nuclear factors governing tissue-restricted expression of the mouse arrestin gene were investigated. The results showed that while proximal promoter sequence positions -38 to +304 are sufficient to direct low levels of retina-specific gene expression, sequences extending upstream to position -209 support higher levels of expression in the retina, as well as detectable expression in the lens, pineal gland, and brain. Within the interval between positions -209 and -38, a broadly expressed nuclear factor, Bd, binds to sequences centered between positions -205 and -185, a region which contains two direct repeats of the hexamer, TGACCT. The proximal promoter binds three apparently retina-specific nuclear factors, Bp1, Bp2, and Bp3, through overlapping sequences centered between positions -25 and -15. Bp1 and Bp3 also recognize a closely related sequence found in the promoter regions of several other vertebrate photoreceptor-specific genes. Moreover, the consensus binding site for Bp1, designated PCE I, is identical to RCS I, an element known to play a critical role eliciting photoreceptor-specific gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster. The results suggest that PCE I and RCS I are functionally as well as structurally similar and that, despite marked differences in the fly and vertebrate visual systems, the transcriptional machinery involved in photoreceptor-specific gene expression has been strongly evolutionarily conserved.
Kikuchi
T
T
Laboratory of Retinal Cell and Molecular Biology, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Raju
K
K
Breitman
M L
ML
Shinohara
T
T
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D019393:Arrestin; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002417:Cattle; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004247:DNA; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D051381:Rats; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D000941:Antigens; D019393:Arrestin; D005136:Eye Proteins; D004247:DNA