title: A newly identified enhancer element responsible for type II collagen gene expression.
abstract: Type II collagen is a major component of cartilage where it is present at a high concentration, which is essential for the functional maintenance of the tissue. Therefore, any fundamental understanding of the physiology of cartilage tissue must include an understanding of the mechanism that allows the high level of expression of type II collagen gene, Col2a1, by chondrocytes. To this end, we developed a new reporter assay system based on the co-transfection of candidate enhancer elements and reporter construct into Swarm rat chondrosarcoma chondrocytes that allowed their stable expression. Using this system, we screened more than 70 kb of the Col2a1 gene and found an enhancer domain that is responsible for the regulation of its expression level. The domain is localized in intron 7, and consists of an 800-bp region that contains within it a previously unidentified domain, ∼140 bp in size.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Regeneration, Department of Hard Tissue Engineering, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan. t.shinomura.trg@tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tamayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shinomura
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höök
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D053674:Aggrecans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051381:Rats; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D053674:Aggrecans; C511513:COL2A1 protein, rat; D024043:Collagen Type II; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor; D001616:beta-Galactosidase