An octamer motif contributes to the expression of the retinoic acid-regulated zinc finger gene Rex-1 (Zfp-42) in F9 teratocarcinoma cells. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • The message for the zinc finger gene Rex-1 (Zfp-42) is expressed in undifferentiated murine F9 teratocarcinoma cells and embryonic stem cells. Expression of Rex-1 is reduced at the transcriptional level when F9 cells are induced by the addition of retinoic acid (RA) to differentiate. We have isolated genomic DNA for the Rex-1 gene (Zfp-42), characterized the gene's structure, and mapped the gene to mouse chromosome 8. Promoter elements contributing to the regulation of the Rex-1 promoter in F9 cells have been identified. A region required for Rex-1 promoter activity in F9 stem cells contains an octamer motif (ATTTGCAT) which is a binding site for octamer transcription factor members of the POU domain family of DNA-binding proteins. Rex-1 reporter plasmids including this octamer site also exhibited reduced expression in F9 cells treated with RA. Thus, the octamer motif is a regulatory element required for the activity of the Rex-1 promoter in F9 stem cells, and this motif contributes to the negative regulation by RA of the transcription of the Rex-1 gene. As an initial confirmation of the in vivo relevance of the isolated fragment, a larger Rex-1 promoter fragment, also containing the octamer site, was able to promote expression of the bacterial lacZ gene in mouse embryos at the morula stage.

publication date

  • May 1, 1993

Research

keywords

  • DNA
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Tretinoin
  • Zinc Fingers

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC359685

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0027273372

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1128/mcb.13.5.2919-2928.1993

PubMed ID

  • 8474450

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 13

issue

  • 5