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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1989 Jun;86(11):4195–4199. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.11.4195

Chromatin configuration of the human CD2 gene locus during T-cell development.

D Wotton 1, B F Flanagan 1, M J Owen 1
PMCID: PMC287417  PMID: 2567000

Abstract

To investigate the molecular basis for the tissue-specific expression of the human CD2 gene, its chromatin configuration was assessed by determining DNase I hypersensitivity and the degree of methylation during T-cell lineage commitment and development. Tissue-specific DNase I-hypersensitive sites were found within the 5' promoter region and a region 3' of the gene essential for gene expression. DNase I hypersensitivity of the 5' region correlated strictly with transcriptional activity, whereas hypersensitivity of the 3' region correlated with T-cell progenitor activity or lineage commitment but not necessarily with transcription. Hha I and Hpa II sites around the 5' and 3' regions were undermethylated in CD2-expressing T cells but were more extensively methylated in other cell types. These results define likely regulatory elements both upstream and downstream of the CD2 gene that control its tissue-specific expression. Further, they show that the 3' regulatory region adopts an open chromatin configuration prior to lineage commitment and during early stages of T-cell development before the CD2 gene is transcribed.

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Selected References

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