title: Transcription of mouse Sp2 yields alternatively spliced and sub-genomic mRNAs in a tissue- and cell-type-specific fashion.
abstract: The Sp-family of transcription factors is comprised by nine members, Sp1-9, that share a highly conserved DNA-binding domain. Sp2 is a poorly characterized member of this transcription factor family that is widely expressed in murine and human cell lines yet exhibits little DNA-binding or trans-activation activity in these settings. As a prelude to the generation of a "knock-out" mouse strain, we isolated a mouse Sp2 cDNA and performed a detailed analysis of Sp2 transcription in embryonic and adult mouse tissues. We report that (1) the 5' untranslated region of Sp2 is subject to alternative splicing, (2) Sp2 transcription is regulated by at least two promoters that differ in their cell-type specificity, (3) one Sp2 promoter is highly active in nine mammalian cell lines and strains and is regulated by at least five discrete stimulatory and inhibitory elements, (4) a variety of sub-genomic messages are synthesized from the Sp2 locus in a tissue- and cell-type-specific fashion and these transcripts have the capacity to encode a novel partial-Sp2 protein, and (5) RNA in situ hybridization assays indicate that Sp2 is widely expressed during mouse embryogenesis, particularly in the embryonic brain, and robust Sp2 expression occurs in neurogenic regions of the post-natal and adult brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences and the Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Teresa D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Horowitz
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051704:Sp2 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051704:Sp2 Transcription Factor