Characterization of the Murine PIG-A Promoter Region High Constitutive PIG-A Gene Expression in Brain

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 215; no. 2; pp. 497 - 503
• Main Authors: Yu, J.L., Medof, M.E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 13.10.1995
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Brain - metabolism; Cell Line; Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase - biosynthesis; Embryo, Mammalian; Female; Fibroblasts; Gene Expression; Membrane Proteins - biosynthesis; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Molecular Sequence Data; Organ Specificity; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Restriction Mapping; Transcription, Genetic; Transfection; X Chromosome
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1006/bbrc.1995.2492

PIG-A is an X-linked gene that encodes a synthetic element required to initiate glycoinositol phospholipid (GPI) anchor assembly. In this study we characterized genomic sequence flanking the previously identified 5′ end of the murine PIG-A gene and analyzed constitutive levels of PIG-A gene expression in vivo in different tissues. We found that the 5′-flanking sequence contains 1) alternative transcriptional start sites at −154 and −34/−33 relative to previously known exon 1 sequence, 2) all MRE and multiple GRE, Ap-2 and Sp-1 consensuses, and 3) a 100-bp-long GC-rich segment bounded by NF-IL6 sites. Our survey of PIG-A mRNA levels in vivo unexpectedly revealed that PIG-A expression levels are 2-4 fold higher in the brain than in other tissues