title: Developmental control of transcription of the CAT reporter gene by a truncated mouse alphafetoprotein gene regulatory region in transgenic mice.
abstract: A truncated mouse alphafetoprotein (AFP) gene promoter/enhancer region was tested for its ability to regulate the expression of the Escherichia coli chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene in the livers of transgenic mice. The AFP regulatory region lacked any AFP gene structural DNA, included one enhancer sequence together with the proximal promoter sequence, and an element believed to be responsible for the postnatal repression of AFP gene transcription. The neonatal livers of AFP/CAT transgenic mice showed a high level of CAT enzyme expression, which was dramatically reduced between 7 and 14 days after birth. The staining of liver sections with anti-CAT antibodies showed that this expression was limited to hepatocytes. In one lineage, reexpression of CAT in the adult liver could be achieved by restitutive proliferation of hepatocytes following partial hepatectomy or CCl4-induced necrosis; reexpression in young animals (3-4 weeks of age) was even greater. These studies show that a truncated AFP promoter/enhancer region functions in a tissue-specific and developmental stage-specific fashion, and may be used to control the expression of other genes in the livers of transgenic mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77025, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghebranious
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Knoll
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yavorkovsky
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ilic
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papaconstantinou
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002252:Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning / Q000378:metabolism; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006498:Hepatectomy; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase