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The enhancer in an MHC class II gene, in vitro and in mouso
1Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes du CNRS, Institut de Chimie Biologique, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
The E alpha class II gene of the major histocompatibility complex is expressed in a variety of immunocompetent cells. Part of the control of tissue-specific expression is mediated by a block of sequences found far upstream of the transcriptional startsite; this stretch is necessary for expression in the B lymphocytes of transgenic mice, but largely dispensable elsewhere. We review the evidence for the role of this region in E alpha transcription in transgenic animals, as well as data from transfections into tissue-culture cells, which indicate that this region has non-specific enhancer activity. We discuss possible models to explain how a non-specific enhancer can participate in cell-specific control.
The E alpha class II gene of the major histocompatibility complex is expressed in a variety of immunocompetent cells. Part of the control of tissue-specific expression is mediated by a block of sequences found far upstream of the transcriptional startsite; this stretch is necessary for expression in the B lymphocytes of transgenic mice, but largely dispensable elsewhere. We review the evidence for the role of this region in E alpha transcription in transgenic animals, as well as data from transfections into tissue-culture cells, which indicate that this region has non-specific enhancer activity. We discuss possible models to explain how a non-specific enhancer can participate in cell-specific control.