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. 1989 Jun;9(6):2464–2476. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.6.2464

Identification of a cell-specific DNA-binding activity that interacts with a transcriptional activator of genes expressed in the acinar pancreas.

M Cockell 1, B J Stevenson 1, M Strubin 1, O Hagenbüchle 1, P K Wellauer 1
PMCID: PMC362319  PMID: 2788241

Abstract

Footprint analysis of the 5'-flanking regions of the alpha-amylase 2, elastase 2, and trypsina genes, which are expressed in the acinar pancreas, showed multiple sites of protein-DNA interaction for each gene. Competition experiments demonstrated that a region from each 5'-flanking region interacted with the same cell-specific DNA-binding activity. We show by in vitro binding assays that this DNA-binding activity also recognizes a sequence within the 5'-flanking regions of elastase 1, chymotrypsinogen B, carboxypeptidase A, and trypsind genes. Methylation interference and protection studies showed that the DNA-binding activity recognized a bipartite motif, the subelements of which were separated by integral helical turns of DNA. The alpha-amylase 2 cognate sequence was found to enhance in vivo transcription of its own promoter in a cell-specific manner, which identified the DNA-binding activity as a transcription factor (PTF 1). The observation that PTF 1 bound to DNA sequences that have been defined as transcriptional enhancers by others suggests that this factor is involved in the coordinate expression of genes transcribed in the acinar pancreas.

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