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Human aldolase A gene: structural organization and expression in tumor cell lines
1Istituto di Scienze Biochimiche, II Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Napoli.
The Italian Journal of Biochemistry
|January 1, 1988
Summary
The human aldolase A gene has twelve exons and produces four distinct mRNAs. Tumor cells show a fetal gene expression pattern, supporting the foetalism theory.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The aldolase A gene plays a crucial role in glycolysis.
- Understanding its structure and expression is vital for cellular metabolism research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the intron/exon organization of the human aldolase A gene.
- To investigate the tissue-specific transcription of aldolase A and its expression patterns in normal and neoplastic cells.
Main Methods:
- Gene cloning and structural analysis.
- mRNA characterization and expression profiling in various cell lines.
Main Results:
- The human aldolase A gene consists of twelve exons, including coding and non-coding regions.
- Four distinct mRNAs, differing in the 5' non-coding region, are transcribed in a tissue-specific manner.
- Neoplastic liver cell lines and HeLa cells exhibit a resurgence of fetal aldolase A expression patterns.
Conclusions:
- The structural organization of the aldolase A gene has been detailed.
- Expression studies support the foetalism theory, indicating a shift towards fetal gene expression in tumor cells.
- This finding has implications for understanding gene regulation in cancer.
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