[Primary functional analysis of CK13 gene 5' flanking region].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism of cytokeratin 13 (CK13) gene expression control and the effects of different motifs of CK13 gene 5' flanking region on its transcriptional activity.

METHODS

The molecular clone technique and reporter gene analysis were used to assay the effects of different motifs of 513 bp of CK13 gene 5' flanking region on its transcriptional activity. The pCAT enhancer vectors with different motifs of CK13 gene 5' flanking region were constructed and transferred to HeLa cells with the help of lipofectin. The instant CAT expression of different clones was detected and the effects of different motifs of the CK13 gene 5' flanking region on its transcriptional activity were evaluated.

RESULTS

119 bp from -nt.325 to -nt.207 upstream of the first ATG of CK13 gene 5' flanking region included a silent element. 113 bp region from -nt.206 to -nt.94 included an enhanced element.

CONCLUSION

513 bp of CK13 gene 5' flanking region includes a silent element and an enhanced element. Further locating these cis elements and detecting the related trans reaction factors may unveil some important clues to the details of the mechanisms for the CK13 gene expression and tissue-specific expression.