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The octamer motif is a B-lymphocyte-specific regulatory element of the HLA-DR. alpha. gene promoter

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)
; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA)
  2. Rockefeller Univ., New York, NY (USA)
The human class II gene, HLA-DR{alpha}, contains an octanucleotide sequence ATTTGCAT located {approx}40 base pairs upstream of the transcription initiation site. The authors have investigated the transcriptional function of the DR{alpha} octamer in human B-lymphoblastoid cells and non-B cells. Deletion and substitution mutagenesis of the octamer sequence greatly reduced the activity of the DR{alpha} promoter in both in vivo and in vitro cell-free transcription systems of B-cell origin. Conversely, these mutations did not affect promoter activity in several non-B-cell lines that express the DR{alpha} gene. Removal of octamer-binding proteins by in vivo titration with an octamer-containing competitor plasmid reduced DR{alpha} promoter activity in B-lymphoblastoid cells. These results suggest that a protein-octamer interaction, most likely involving the B-cell-specific octamer binding protein (OTF-2), is required for DR{alpha} promoter function in B-lymphoblastoid cells but not in non-B cells.
OSTI ID:
7067170
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA) Vol. 86:17; ISSN PNASA; ISSN 0027-8424
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English