Identification of a novel DNase I hypersensitive site within the far upstream region of the human HLA-DRA gene.
The class II products of the major histocompatibility complex have a distribution restricted to certain tissues and cells. For instance, they are constitutively expressed by B lymphocytes, but not by resting T lymphocytes. In this study, we report the identification of a novel DNase I hypersensitive site within a putative regulatory region of the human HLA-DRA gene, the so-called far upstream region. This hypersensitive site was present in the genome of the DRalpha-positive human B-lymphoid Raji cell line, and absent in the DRalpha-negative T-lymphoid Jurkat cell line. In addition, this hypersensitive site was also present in transgenic B lymphocytes isolated from the murine transgenic line TG 53, carrying a single integrated copy of the human HLA-DRA gene per haploid genome. The correlation between DRA expression and the presence of this far upstream hypersensitive site suggests novel long distance chromatin remodeling mechanisms possibly shared by human and murine class II genes.
Tomassetti
Marina
M
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari no. 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
Feriotto
Giordana
G
Giacomini
Patrizio
P
Giorda
Ezio
E
Bianchi
Nicoletta
N
Borgatti
Monica
M
Finotti
Alessia
A
Mischiati
Carlo
C
Gambari
Roberto
R
D024506:5' Flanking Region; D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I / Q000378:metabolism*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059805:HLA-DR alpha-Chains; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D017931:DNA Primers; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059805:HLA-DR alpha-Chains; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I