Identifying the promoter region of the human brain sodium channel subtype II gene (SCN2A)

Sodium channel genes are highly regulated. To begin analyzing the human brain sodium channel subtype II gene, SCN2A, at the transcriptional level, we mapped multiple transcriptional start sites within a 397 bp stretch of the 5'-UTR and -flanking region. When inserted into a basic luciferase reporter vector, this 397 bp region can promote luciferase expression in transiently transfected neuroblastoma cells, but not in non-neuronal cells. Thus, this study provides the initial description of a functional promoter in a human voltage-gated sodium channel gene.