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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
. 1983 Dec;80(24):7437–7441. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.24.7437

Structure of the human interleukin 2 gene.

T Fujita, C Takaoka, H Matsui, T Taniguchi
PMCID: PMC389966  PMID: 6324170

Abstract

We have cloned two species of EcoRI-cleaved DNA segments that together cover the entire sequence for the human interleukin 2 gene and have determined the nucleotide sequence of the gene and its flanking regions. The gene contains three introns and the exon sequences can be aligned with the previously reported cDNA sequence almost perfectly except for a few nucleotides in the 3' nontranslated region. The promoter region contains a prototype "TATA" sequence as well as a notable palindromic sequence. Particularly interesting is the presence of sequences in this region that are homologous to the promoter region of the human interferon-gamma gene. In addition, a sequence that closely resembles the core sequence for the viral enhancer elements has been found in the second intron. Such sequences may play a role in the expression of the interleukin 2 gene in lectin- or antigen-stimulated T lymphocytes.

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Selected References

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