A novel element (NIRS) participates in the regulation ofinterleukin 2 receptorαgene expression

A novel element at -153/- 143 bp in the interleukin 2 receptor α(IL-2Rα) gene has been coined as NRE-inverse repeat sequence (NIRS) due to its inversely repeated to the known negative regulatory element (NRE) further upstream of the gene. In order to explore the role of NIRS in the expression of IL-2Rαgene,luciferase reporter plasmids driven by 4 individually deleted IL-2Rα genes promoter regions were constructed. Transfection of the reporter plasmids into Jurkat cells and HeLa cells respectively, we found that both NIRS and NRE were critical for repressing the constitutive expression of IL-2Rα gene and were also necessary for promoter activity induced by PHA. EMSA results showed that double-stranded NRE- and NIRS-binding proteins existed in both HeLa cells and Jurkat cells. However, single-stranded NIRS- and NRE-binding protein was only found in HeLa cells. Interestingly, the supershift band showed up in EMSA system with Jurkat cells (no matter whether activated or not) adding to the cell lysate of HeLa cells. UV-crosslinking showed a double stranded NRE- and NIRS-binding protein p83 in both Jurkat cells and HeLa cells. Our results suggest that trans-acting factors play a key role in regulating promoter activity of IL-2Rα gene by interacting with double or single stranded NRE and/or NIRS selectively in different cells.     

Promoter activities of genes cpcT2 and cpcS2 in Nostoc PCC 7120

To study the promoter activities of genes cpcT 2 and cpcS 2,several upstream DNA fragments of these two genes with different lengths were selected.These fragments were fused with promoterless gfp(reporter gene) for constructing five recombinant plasmids.Then,these recombinant plasmids were transferred into Nostoc PCC 7120 by conjugation.The promoter activities of genes cpcT 2 and cpcS 2 were determined by observing the fluorescence of green fluorescent protein(GFP) with a fluorescence microscope.The result showed that the 1 300 bp(-1 300 to 0 bp) and 2 600 bp(-2 600 to 0 bp) upstream fragments of cpcT 2 had strong promoter activity and the promoter activity of the 680 bp(-680 to 0 bp) fragment was weaker than that of two above fragments of cpcT 2.The 2 000 bp(-2 000 to 0 bp) upstream fragment of cpcS 2 revealed weak promoter activity.This showed that a strong promoter of cpcT 2 was located in the upstream fragment between-680 and-1 300 bp.     

Analysis of the Cotton E6 Promoter

An E6 gene from sea island cotton （Gossypium barbadense） was expressed specifically in cotton fiber cells to transfer functions to cultivated species for better transgenic engineering. The regulatory activity of the E6 promoter region was then studied by isolating a 614-bp fragment of the 5＇-flanking region from upland cotton （Gossypium hirsutum CR1-12） to produce a green fluorescent protein （GFP） reporter construct for analysis of tissue-specific expression in transgenic tobacco seedlings. Fluorescent analyses indicate that the relatively short E6 promoter is sufficient to direct green fluorescent protein expression specifically in the leaf trichomes （hair cells） of the transgenic tobacco plants. As cotton fibers are also unicellular trichomes that differentiate from epidermal cells of developing cotton ovules, the result suggests that the relatively short E6 promoter can serve as a fiber-specific expression promoter for genetic engineering to improve cotton fiber quality.     

A novel element (NIRS) participates in the regulation of interleukin 2 receptor α gene expression

A novel element at −153/−143 bp in the interleukin 2 receptor α (IL-2Rα) gene has been coined as NRE-inverse repeat sequence (NIRS) due to its inversely repeated to the known negative regulatory element (NRE) further upstream of the gene. In order to explore the role of NIRS in the expression of IL-2Rα gene, luciferase reporter plasmids driven by 4 individually deleted IL-2Rα genes promoter regions were constructed. Transfection of the reporter plasmids into Jurkat cells and HeLa cells respectively, we found that both NIRS and NRE were critical for repressing the constitutive expression of IL-2Rα gene and were also necessary for promoter activity induced by PHA. EMSA results showed that double-stranded NRE-and NIRS-binding proteins existed in both HeLa cells and Jurkat cells. However, single-stranded NIRS-and NRE-binding protein was only found in HeLa cells. Interestingly, the supershift band showed up in EMSA system with Jurkat cells (no matter whether activated or not) adding to the cell lysate of HeLa cells. UV-crosslinking showed a double stranded NRE-and NIRS-binding protein p83 in both Jurkat cells and HeLa cells. Our results suggest that trans-acting factors play a key role in regulating promoter activity of IL-2Rα gene by interacting with double or single stranded NRE and/or NIRS selectively in different cells.     

人MiTERF3基因启动子的克隆及其荧光素酶报告基因载体的构建

人MiTERF3基因编码线粒体基因转录和能量代谢的负调控因子。采用PCR技术对人MiTERF3基因5''侧翼上游1251 bp启动子序列进行扩增,并将其克隆至荧光素酶表达载体pGL6-TA,构建人MiTERF3基因启动子荧光素酶报告基因质粒。经酶切、测序鉴定后,将其用脂质体转染体外培养的HEK293细胞株,利用双荧光素酶测定系统检测其表达活性。研究结果表明,克隆获得的1251 bp DNA序列与GenBank报道的一致,且插入方向正确。含人MiTERF3基因启动子的报告基因荧光素酶的表达活性显著提高（P<0.05）,约为对照组（空载体pGL6-TA）的9.8倍。本研究通过对人MiTERF3基因启动子的克隆及其荧光素酶表达载体构建与表达活性的测定,为进一步阐明人MiTERF3基因表达的调控机制奠定实验基础。     

不同亚型人SMYD3启动子转录活性比较

利用PCR方法克隆SMYD3两个亚型的启动子区域,并构建其荧光素酶报告质粒.转染COS-7细胞后,利用荧光素酶报告分析技术,对二者启动子的转录活性进行了检测和比较.结果显示:SMYD3亚型1启动子的转录活性要显著高于亚型2启动子,生物信息学分析提示其原因可能与含有转录因子E2F-1结合位点的串联重复序列有关.