CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MOUSE HNF-4 GENE AND ITS EXPRESSION DURING MOUSE EMBRYOGENESIS
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MOUSE HNF-4 GENE AND ITS EXPRESSION DURING MOUSE EMBRYOGENESIS
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DOI：
10.1016/0925-4773(94)90017-5
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发表时间：
1994-11-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
KELSEY, G
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
TARAVIRAS, S;MONAGHAN, AP;KELSEY, G
肝细胞核因子4（HNF - 4）是配体未知的核受体基因超家族的成员。据推测它在肝脏的基因表达调控中起重要作用。在此，我们报道了小鼠HNF - 4基因的克隆和特性，以及它在胚胎发生过程中的表达。HNF - 4蛋白由10个外显子编码。其基因结构在类固醇受体超家族中是独特的，因为第二个锌指由两个外显子编码。HNF - 4 mRNA在有限的几种小鼠成年组织中表达：肝脏、肾脏、肠道、胃和皮肤。由于通过原位杂交确定，在这些器官的初次分化时就出现HNF - 4的mRNA，所以HNF - 4可能在内脏卵黄囊的形成和功能以及肝脏和肾脏的发育中起重要作用。作为研究HNF - 4基因调控元件的第一步，我们绘制了转录起始位点，并对该基因上游约22kb的区域进行了DNA酶I超敏感位点（HS）分析。超敏感位点的复杂性表明，多种元件可能对HNF - 4基因的转录调控有贡献。
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF-4) is a member of the nuclear receptor gene superfamily with unknown ligand. It has been assumed to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression in the liver. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of the mouse HNF-4 gene, as well as its expression during embryogenesis. The HNF-4 protein is encoded by ten exons. The gene structure is unique in the steroid receptor superfamily in that the second zinc finger is encoded by two exons. HNF-4 mRNA is expressed in a limited number of mouse adult tissues: liver, kidney, intestine, stomach and skin. HNF-4 could play an important role in the formation and function of visceral yolk sac and in the development of the liver and kidney since its mRNA, as determined by in situ hybridization, appears upon primary differentiation of these organs. As a first step in the study of the regulatory elements of the HNF-4 gene, we mapped the transcription start site and carried out DNase I hypersensitive site (HS) analysis over a region of approximately 22kb upstream of the gene. The complexity of the HSs suggests that multiple elements might contribute to the transcriptional regulation of the HNF-4 gene.