Usage of putative chicken U6 promoters for vector-based RNA interference.
Gene silencing with short interfering RNA (siRNA) expression vectors is a powerful method for the analysis of gene functions. For the expression of siRNA in mammalian cells, mammalian U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) promoters are widely used. However, the mammalian U6 promoter might not function well in other species. In this study, we cloned four putative chicken U6 promoters by PCR and analyzed their functions. First, we screened the chicken genomic database using the human U6 snRNA gene and identified four candidate sequences. The sequences contained some control elements in their promoter regions, but as we could not rule out that they were pseudogenes, we amplified these sequences and used them as promoters for short hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression. Using the firefly luciferase (Luc) gene as a target, transient expression assays were performed with chicken ovary-derived cells. All four putative chicken U6 promoters exhibited suppressive activity toward Luc, and so could act as a promoter for expression of the snRNA gene in the chicken genome. The promoter activity was not as strong as that of a commercially available siRNA expression vector. This probably reflects artificial sequences between the promoters and synthetic DNA encoding shRNA.
Kudo
Toshiyuki
T
Laboratory of Functional Genomics, Department of Biological Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shujitsu University, Okayama, Japan. kudo@shujitsu.ac.jp
Sutou
Shizuyo
S
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics*; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear; C405486:U6 small nuclear RNA; D008156:Luciferases