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Updated: Aug 31, 2026

Streamlined Single Cell TCR Isolation and Generation of Retroviral Vectors for In Vitro and In Vivo Expression of Human TCRs
Published on: September 10, 2017
T cell-specific expression of the human TNF-alpha gene involves a functional and highly conserved chromatin signature
Robert Barthel1, Anne E Goldfeld
1Center for Blood Research and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Using a phylogenetic approach, we identified highly conserved sequences within intron 3 of the human TNF-alpha gene. These sequences form cell type-specific DNase I hypersensitivity sites and display cell type-specific DNA-protein contacts in in vivo genomic footprints. Consistent with these results, intron 3 confers specific activity upon a TNF-alpha reporter gene in Jurkat T cells, but not THP-1 monocytic cells. Thus, using a combinatorial approach of phylogenetic analysis, DNase I hypersensitivity analysis, in vivo footprinting, and transfection analysis, we demonstrate that intronic regulatory elements are involved in the cell type-specific regulation of TNF-alpha gene expression.
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