Open AccessPosttranscriptional gene regulation and specific binding of the nonhistone protein HMG-I by the 3' untranslated region of bovine interleukin 2 cDNA.
Author(s) -
Raymond Reeves,
Terry S. Elton,
Mark S. Nissen,
Donald A. Lehn,
Kenneth R. Johnson
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.84.18.6531
Subject(s) - biology , untranslated region , complementary dna , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , chloramphenicol acetyltransferase , conserved sequence , coding region , chromatin , three prime untranslated region , non histone protein , gene expression , regulatory sequence , messenger rna , genetics , reporter gene , peptide sequence
The 3' untranslated tail region (3'-UTR) of the cDNA of bovine interleukin 2 (bIL-2) acts as a lymphoid cell-specific gene regulatory element in vivo when ligated to the 3' end of the "marker" bacterial gene coding for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and the hybrid fusion gene is introduced into bovine lymphoid cells by transfection. Evidence is also presented that the 3'-UTR with its conserved (TATT)n motif probably has multiple functions in lymphoid cells operating both at the chromosomal level, where the sequence may be involved in the specific binding of the nonhistone chromatin high mobility group protein HMG-I, and at the RNA level, where the conserved sequence is involved in selective posttranscriptional mRNA degradation by a lymphocyte-specific nuclease(s). These results suggest a complex in vivo role for the 3'-UTR of bIL-2 cDNA and the conserved (TATT)n sequences found within it. They also offer a plausible explanation for the high degree of conservation of similar A + T-rich sequences in the 3'-UTRs of many of the other immune-response and growth-regulatory genes of mammals.