The upstream regulatory regions of the mouse and rabbit whey acidic protein (WAP) genes have been used extensively to target the efficient expression of foreign genes into the mammary gland of transgenic animals. Therefore both regions have been studied to elucidate fully the mechanisms controlling WAP gene expression. Three DNase I-hypersensitive sites (HSS0, HSS1 and HSS2) have been described upstream of the rabbit WAP gene in the lactating mammary gland and correspond to important regulatory regions. These sites are surrounded by variable chromatin structures during mammary-gland development. In the present study, we describe the upstream sequence of the mouse WAP gene. Analysis of genomic sequences shows that the mouse WAP gene is situated between two widely expressed genes (Cpr2 and Ramp3). We show that the hypersensitive sites found upstream of the rabbit WAP gene are also detected in the mouse WAP gene. Further, they encompass functional signal transducer and activator of transcription 5-binding sites, as has been observed in the rabbit. A new hypersensitive site (HSS3), not specific to the mammary gland, was mapped 8 kb upstream of the rabbit WAP gene. Unlike the three HSSs described above, HSS3 is also detected in the liver, but similar to HSS1, it does not depend on lactogenic hormone treatments during cell culture. The region surrounding HSS3 encompasses a potential matrix attachment region, which is also conserved upstream of the mouse WAP gene and contains a functional transcription factor Ets-1 (E26 transformation-specific-1)-binding site. Finally, we demonstrate for the first time that variations in the chromatin structure are dependent on prolactin alone.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
May 15 2003
Hormone-induced modifications of the chromatin structure surrounding upstream regulatory regions conserved between the mouse and rabbit whey acidic protein genes
Benjamin MILLOT;
Benjamin MILLOT
∗Unité de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78 352 Jouy en josas Cedex, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Lluís MONTOLIU;
Lluís MONTOLIU
†Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Marie-Louise FONTAINE;
Marie-Louise FONTAINE
∗Unité de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78 352 Jouy en josas Cedex, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Teresa MATA;
Teresa MATA
1
†Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Eve DEVINOY
Eve DEVINOY
2
∗Unité de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78 352 Jouy en josas Cedex, France
2To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail devinoy@jouy.inra.fr).
Search for other works by this author on:
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 06 2002
Revision Received:
January 09 2003
Accepted:
February 11 2003
Accepted Manuscript online:
February 11 2003
Online ISSN: 1470-8728
Print ISSN: 0264-6021
The Biochemical Society, London ©2003
2003
Biochem J (2003) 372 (1): 41–52.
Article history
Received:
December 06 2002
Revision Received:
January 09 2003
Accepted:
February 11 2003
Accepted Manuscript online:
February 11 2003
Citation
Benjamin MILLOT, Lluís MONTOLIU, Marie-Louise FONTAINE, Teresa MATA, Eve DEVINOY; Hormone-induced modifications of the chromatin structure surrounding upstream regulatory regions conserved between the mouse and rabbit whey acidic protein genes. Biochem J 15 May 2003; 372 (1): 41–52. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj20021894
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Captcha Validation Error. Please try again.