Sequence requirements for Afr-2 regulation of alpha-fetoprotein gene expression during liver regeneration.
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene expression occurs in the yolk sac, fetal liver and gut, and in the adult liver during regeneration and tumorigenesis. Polymorphism at a single genetic locus, Afr-2 (formerly known as Rif) between inbred mouse strains C3H/He and C57B1/6, results in different levels of AFP expression during liver regeneration. We examined AFP, histone H3, and albumin gene expression during liver regeneration and found that the strain-specific variance in AFP gene expression could not be attributed to a difference in the numbers of dividing cells. Experiments with transgenic mice revealed sequences required for Afr-2 regulation included 172 bp between -1010 and -838 bp and 118 bp immediately upstream of the AFP transcriptional start site-the same regions required for induction during liver regeneration. This suggests that the Afr-2 phenotype may stem from an allelic difference in a gene regulating gene expression during liver regeneration.
Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York, Brooklyn 11203, USA.
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Jin
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Feuerman
D000418:Albumins / Q000235:genetics; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000235:genetics*
D000418:Albumins; D006657:Histones; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins