Promoter analysis of tumor suppressor gene PTEN: identification of minimum promoter region

Mutations of PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 10, which encodes a protein-tyrosine and lipid-phosphatase, are prevalent in various human cancers, including glioblastoma. Despite extensive characterization of PTEN mutations in human cancers and a relatively good understanding of the molecular roles of PTEN in the control of cellular processes, little is known about modes of PTEN regulation. To understand the regulation of expression of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN, we isolated a 2212 bp fragment from the human BAC clone 46B12 DNA. The 3' end of this fragment starts at the Not I site of -745 relative to the first translation codon ATG (+1) and ends at the Sal I site of -2957 at the 5' end. Using classical 5'RACE and primer extension techniques, nine start sites were observed between -817 and -984 upstream of the ATG start site. We located a 137 bp fragment (-958/-821) as the minimum promoter region using promoter deletion and luciferase assays. A 704 bp fragment (-33/-737) downstream of the 2212 bp fragment was also cloned. As indicated by luciferase assays, the data show that this region possesses no promoter function. Interestingly, a p53 binding sequence is located within the 599 bp fragment (-1344/-745), although p53 expression had a minimal effect on PTEN, demonstrating its insignificant role in PTEN gene expression.     

山葡萄几丁质酶基因VCH3启动子的分离及鉴定

利用接头PCR技术首次分离了长度为1 216bp的"双优"山葡萄(Vitis amurensis Rupr.)classⅢ几丁质酶基因VCH3上游启动子序列(GenBank登录号AF441123),并用引物延伸方法鉴定了该启动子的转录起始位点,为5'-ATCAAGCAC-31序列中的第二个A.序列分析结果表明,代表真核基因启动子特征的CAAT盒和TATA盒分别位于VCH3启动子转录起始位点上游-122和-29处.另外,在转录起始位点上游-1 181 bp和-293 bp处各有一个水杨酸(SA)响应的顺式作用元件TGACG.为了鉴定该启动子的功能,将该启动子连接到β-葡糖苷酸酶基因(GUS)编码区的上游构建了VCH3启动子-GUS融合基因,并用农杆菌介导叶盘转化法将该融合基因转入烟草栽培品种NC89中.SA处理的转基因烟草根系和叶片GUS酶活性的荧光和组织化学检测结果表明VCH3启动子的驱动作用被SA诱导,因而该启动子在基因工程中将具有潜在的应用价值.