Skip to main content
PMC home page
Nucleic Acids Research logoLink to Nucleic Acids Research
. 1984 Sep 11;12(17):6751–6762. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.17.6751

Developmental regulation of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein gene expression in the rat.

L Muglia, J Locker
PMCID: PMC320114  PMID: 6207482

Abstract

Albumin and AFP comprise a developmentally regulated gene family expressed predominantly in liver and yolk sac. In this study, we have analyzed the developmental changes in the levels of transcripts in liver and yolk sac, and the methylation of the genes in yolk sac. We have previously analyzed the gene methylation in developing liver and non-expressing tissues (Kunnath and Locker, 1983, EMBO J., 2, 317-324). From these analyses we can distinguish 3 active modes of coordinated expression. The adult liver synthesizes albumin, the yolk sac synthesizes AFP, and the fetal liver synthesizes both. In the yolk sac, the relatively inactive albumin gene is hypermethylated, while the active AFP gene is undermethylated. Our data suggest that the genes are activated simultaneously but that subsequent enhancement is specific for tissue and developmental stage.

Full text

PDF
6755

Images in this article

6754Image
on p.6754
6755Image
on p.6755
6758Image
on p.6758
6759Image
on p.6759

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Chirgwin J. M., Przybyla A. E., MacDonald R. J., Rutter W. J. Isolation of biologically active ribonucleic acid from sources enriched in ribonuclease. Biochemistry. 1979 Nov 27;18(24):5294–5299. doi: 10.1021/bi00591a005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chiu J. F., Massari R. J., Schwartz C. E., Meisler N. T., Thanassi J. W. Hormonal modulation of alpha-fetoprotein gene expression in newborn rat livers. Nucleic Acids Res. 1981 Dec 21;9(24):6917–6933. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.24.6917. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gorin M. B., Cooper D. L., Eiferman F., van de Rijn P., Tilghman S. M. The evolution of alpha-fetoprotein and albumin. I. A comparison of the primary amino acid sequences of mammalian alpha-fetoprotein and albumin. J Biol Chem. 1981 Feb 25;256(4):1954–1959. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ingram R. S., Scott R. W., Tilghman S. M. alpha-Fetoprotein and albumin genes are in tandem in the mouse genome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Aug;78(8):4694–4698. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.8.4694. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jagodzinski L. L., Sargent T. D., Yang M., Glackin C., Bonner J. Sequence homology between RNAs encoding rat alpha-fetoprotein and rat serum albumin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jun;78(6):3521–3525. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.6.3521. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kunnath L., Locker J. Characterization of DNA methylation in the rat. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1982 Dec 31;699(3):264–271. doi: 10.1016/0167-4781(82)90116-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kunnath L., Locker J. Developmental changes in the methylation of the rat albumin and alpha-fetoprotein genes. EMBO J. 1983;2(3):317–324. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01425.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kunnath L., Locker J. Variable methylation of the ribosomal RNA genes of the rat. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Jul 10;10(13):3877–3892. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.13.3877. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Locker J. Analytical and preparative electrophoresis of RNA in agarose-urea. Anal Biochem. 1979 Oct 1;98(2):358–367. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(79)90154-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Muglia L., Locker J. Extrapancreatic insulin gene expression in the fetal rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jun;81(12):3635–3639. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.12.3635. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nahon J. L., Gal A., Frain M., Sell S., Sala-Trepat J. M. No evidence for post-transcriptional control of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein gene expression in developing rat liver neoplasia. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Mar 25;10(6):1895–1911. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.6.1895. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Noyes B. E., Mevarech M., Stein R., Agarwal K. L. Detection and partial sequence analysis of gastrin mRNA by using an oligodeoxynucleotide probe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Apr;76(4):1770–1774. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.4.1770. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ohno S. Original domain for the serum albumin family arose from repeated sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Dec;78(12):7657–7661. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.12.7657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rigby P. W., Dieckmann M., Rhodes C., Berg P. Labeling deoxyribonucleic acid to high specific activity in vitro by nick translation with DNA polymerase I. J Mol Biol. 1977 Jun 15;113(1):237–251. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(77)90052-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sala-Trepat J. M., Dever J., Sargent T. D., Thomas K., Sell S., Bonner J. Changes in expression of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein genes during rat liver development and neoplasia. Biochemistry. 1979 May 29;18(11):2167–2178. doi: 10.1021/bi00578a006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sargent T. D., Wu J. R., Sala-Trepat J. M., Wallace R. B., Reyes A. A., Bonner J. The rat serum albumin gene: analysis of cloned sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Jul;76(7):3256–3260. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.7.3256. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sargent T. D., Yang M., Bonner J. Nucleotide sequence of cloned rat serum albumin messenger RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jan;78(1):243–246. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.1.243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sellem C. H., Frain M., Erdos T., Sala-Trepat J. M. Differential expression of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein genes in fetal tissues of mouse and rat. Dev Biol. 1984 Mar;102(1):51–60. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(84)90174-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Southern E. M. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol. 1975 Nov 5;98(3):503–517. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80083-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tilghman S. M., Belayew A. Transcriptional control of the murine albumin/alpha-fetoprotein locus during development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Sep;79(17):5254–5257. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.17.5254. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tse T. P., Morris H. P., Taylor J. M. Molecular basis of reduced albumin synthesis in Morris hepatoma 7777. Biochemistry. 1978 Jul 25;17(15):3121–3128. doi: 10.1021/bi00608a028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. VOLKIN E., COHN W. E. Estimation of nucleic acids. Methods Biochem Anal. 1954;1:287–305. doi: 10.1002/9780470110171.ch11. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Weibel E. R., Stäubli W., Gnägi H. R., Hess F. A. Correlated morphometric and biochemical studies on the liver cell. I. Morphometric model, stereologic methods, and normal morphometric data for rat liver. J Cell Biol. 1969 Jul;42(1):68–91. doi: 10.1083/jcb.42.1.68. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Nucleic Acids Research are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES