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. 1989 Apr;86(8):2617–2621. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.8.2617

Illegitimate transcription: transcription of any gene in any cell type.

J Chelly 1, J P Concordet 1, J C Kaplan 1, A Kahn 1
PMCID: PMC286968  PMID: 2495532

Abstract

Using in vitro amplification of cDNA by the polymerase chain reaction, we have detected spliced transcripts of various tissue-specific genes (genes for anti-Müllerian hormone, beta-globin, aldolase A, and factor VIIIc) in human nonspecific cells, such as fibroblasts, hepatoma cells, and lymphoblasts. In rats, erythroid- and liver-type pyruvate kinase transcripts were also detected in brain, lung, and muscle. The abundance of these "illegitimate" transcripts is very low; yet, their existence and the possibility of amplifying them by the cDNA polymerase chain reaction provide a powerful tool to analyze pathological transcripts of any tissue-specific gene by using any accessible cell.

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