Expression of the 5'-flanking region of the beta major-globin gene in cultured murine erythroid precursor cells.

The amounts of mouse beta major-globin mRNA and globin gene upstream RNA polymerase III transcripts were compared during the differentiation of purified erythroid colony-forming progenitor cells (CFU-E) in vitro. The accumulation of each RNA was determined relative to the 100% levels in fetal liver erythroid cells. The mRNA level was low in freshly isolated CFU-E and began to accumulate only after a lag period of approximately 2-4 h. It continued to accumulate for approximately 40 h thereafter, at which point it was comparable to that in the fetal liver. In contrast, in three of four CFU-E preparations, the relative level of upstream RNAs was high in freshly isolated CFU-E and reached the maximal level (defined as 100% of the fetal liver level) more rapidly than did the mRNA. The early induction and accelerated accumulation of upstream RNAs in immature erythroid cells suggest some role for these RNAs at an early stage of globin gene activation.