title: Genetic regulation of delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase during erythropoiesis.
abstract: In an effort to understand how the heme biosynthetic pathway is uniquely regulated in erythroid cells, we examined the structure of the gene encoding murine delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALAD; EC4.2.1.24), which is the second enzyme of the pathway. The gene contains two first exons, named 1A and 1B, which are alternatively spliced to exon 2, where the coding region begins. Each first exon has its own promoter. The promoter driving exon 1A expression is TATA-less and contains many GC boxes. In contrast, the exon 1B promoter bears regulatory sequences similar to those found for beta-globin and other erythroid-specific genes. Tissue distribution studies reveal that ALAD mRNA containing axon 1A is ubiquitous, whereas mRNA containing axon 1B is found only in erythroid tissues. This finding, together with our further observation that GATA-1 mRNA levels increase 3-fold during maturation of murine erythroid progenitor cells, may help explain simultaneous 3-fold increases in exon 1B expression. The unexpected result that axon 1A expression also increases 3-fold during CFU-E maturation may be attributable to the action of NF-E2, since there is a potential binding site in a position analogous to the NF-E2 site in the locus control region of the beta-globin gene cluster.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beall
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Zon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dierks
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002899:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D050981:Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors; D004920:Erythropoiesis / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons; D050982:GATA1 Transcription Factor; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050983:NF-E2 Transcription Factor; D050984:NF-E2 Transcription Factor, p45 Subunit; D010442:Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational; D000623:Porphobilinogen Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018387:Codon, Initiator; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D050981:Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors; D050982:GATA1 Transcription Factor; C494688:GATA1 protein, human; C494689:Gata1 protein, mouse; C494690:Gata1 protein, rat; D050983:NF-E2 Transcription Factor; D050984:NF-E2 Transcription Factor, p45 Subunit; C494692:NFE2 protein, human; C494693:Nfe2 protein, mouse; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000623:Porphobilinogen Synthase