title: Distinct enhancers regulate neural expression of Pax7.
abstract: The murine Pax7 gene has emerged as an important regulator of neural and somite development. It is expressed in discrete domains of the central nervous system, including cranial neural crest, dorsal neural tube, and mesencephalic tectum, pretectum, and base, and at the midbrain-hindbrain boundary. It is also expressed by nasal epithelia and neural crest-derived facial structures. Here, we define the 5' end of the cDNA for murine Pax7 and identify the transcriptional start site. We clarify gene structure and the murine coding sequence, and we define regions of noncoding sequence that are conserved between mice and humans. Using transgenic approaches, we identify upstream and intronic regulatory elements that confer distinct domains of neural expression in the cranial neural crest, facial mesenchyme, mesencephalon, and pontine reticular nucleus. These enhancer regions will be useful for gene expression studies and for the identification of upstream regulators of Pax7 expression.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 954 BRB II, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Milewski
authors.forename: Yue Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Min Min
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Epstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D024363:Transcription Initiation Site
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C402669:PaxA protein, Pasteurella aerogenes