The rodent B2 sequence can affect expression when present in the transcribed region of a reporter gene

The mouse B2 element is a moderately repetitive nt sequence of 180 bp transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) at high levels in embryonic and transformed cells. The B2 sequence is present in either orientation within the noncoding regions of a number of genes transcribed by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). We sought to determine if the small B2 transcripts generated by Pol III are natural antisense RNA molecules which might hybridize to complementary sequences present within Pol II transcripts. Chimaeric reporter genes encoding Escherichia coli gpt were constructed containing a B2 repeat in either orientation within the 5'- or 3'-untranslated regions. These constructs were transfected into embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells and expression of the reporter gene was analysed in EC cells and retinoic acid-treated EC cells, which contain high and low levels of small B2 RNAs, respectively. Although the B2 sequences affected expression of the reporter gene, these effects did not appear to be due to hybridization of the small B2 RNA to the reporter transcripts. The presence of B2 sequences near a Pol II-transcribed gene can alter expression of that gene in a position- and orientation-dependent manner, suggesting these repetitive elements may be cis-acting regulators of gene expression.