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. 1991 Jul 1;88(13):5665–5669. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.13.5665

Regulation of a fos-lacZ fusion gene: a paradigm for quantitative analysis of stimulus-transcription coupling.

K Schilling 1, D Luk 1, J I Morgan 1, T Curran 1
PMCID: PMC51938  PMID: 1648227

Abstract

Expression of the c-fos protooncogene is induced by a great variety of extracellular stimuli. A fos-lacZ fusion gene has been constructed that recapitulates this regulation. The fos-lacZ gene was introduced into B104 neuroblastoma cells for use in a quantitative assay for stimulus-transcription coupling. Both alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists, dibutyryl cAMP, and phorbol ester induced beta-galactosidase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, the interactions of receptors with agonists and antagonists, as well as intracellular second messenger-mediated signaling events, can be analyzed quantitatively. This approach represents a prototypic method for investigating stimulus-response coupling based upon gene expression.

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Selected References

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