Abstract
The octamer sequence ATGCAAAT or its inverse complement ATTTGCAT is well-conserved in all immunoglobulin gene promoters1,2 and has been implicated in promoter function by deletion analysis2–7. Although immunoglobulin promoters are tissue-specific3–6,8, the octamer is also a functional element in non-tissue-specific upstream regions—like those controlling Ul and U2 small nuclear RNA and histone H2B genes—where it is associated with additional canonical elements9–12. Specific interactions occur between the octamer motif and both lymphoid-specific and ubiquitous proteins13–18. By using a synthetic octamer oligonucleotide inserted upstream of the β-globin TATA box we show here that the octamer element by itself is sufficient for directing lymphocyte-specific RNA synthesis when within 70 base pairs of the start site of transcription. We also demonstrate that mutations in any position of the conserved motif interfere with this function.
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Wirth, T., Staudt, L. & Baltimore, D. An octamer oligonucleotide upstream of a TATA motif is sufficient for lymphoid-specific promoter activity. Nature 329, 174–178 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329174a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/329174a0
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