Expression of the mouse pre-T cell receptor alpha gene is controlled by an upstream region containing a transcriptional enhancer.

ABSTRACT: The pre-T cell receptor alpha (pTalpha) protein is a critical component of the pre-T cell receptor complex in early thymocytes. The expression of the pTalpha gene is one of the earliest markers of the T cell lineage and occurs exclusively in pre-T cells. To investigate the molecular basis of thymocyte-specific gene expression, we searched for the genomic elements regulating transcription of the mouse pTalpha gene. We now report that expression of the pTalpha gene is primarily controlled by an upstream genomic region, which can drive thymocyte-specific expression of a marker gene in transgenic mice. Within this region, we have identified two specific DNase-hypersensitive sites corresponding to a proximal promoter and an upstream transcriptional enhancer. The pTalpha enhancer appears to func

SUBMITTER: Reizis B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2193641 | biostudies-literature | 1999 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature