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Human CREM gene: evolutionary conservation, chromosomal localization, and inducibility of the transcript
D Masquilier1, N S Foulkes, M G Mattei
1Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
Cell Growth & Differentiation : the Molecular Biology Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
|November 1, 1993
Summary
The cyclic AMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) gene is conserved across diverse species, including humans and pigs. This study confirms conserved CREM function and inducibility, vital for neuroendocrine pathways.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Neuroendocrinology
Background:
- The cyclic AMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) gene regulates cyclic AMP (cAMP) transcriptional responses.
- CREM expression is implicated in key neuroendocrine pathway functions.
- Understanding CREM's evolutionary conservation is crucial for its physiological relevance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary conservation of CREM sequences and function.
- To determine the chromosomal localization of CREM and CREB genes in humans and mice.
- To confirm the functional conservation of CREM's cAMP inducibility in humans.
Main Methods:
- Comparative sequence analysis of CREM across species (pig, human, chicken, lemur, Xenopus).
- Chromosomal localization studies for CREM and CREB genes in mice and humans.
- Cloning and sequence identity comparison of human and mouse CREM complementary DNA.
- Assessment of CREM's cAMP transcriptional inducibility in human cells.
Main Results:
- CREM sequences are conserved in diverse vertebrates, including mammals, birds, amphibians, and primates.
- Human and mouse CREM genes share high complementary DNA sequence identity.
- Chromosomal localization of CREM and CREB genes was determined for humans and mice.
- Human CREM exhibits conserved cAMP-inducible transcriptional activity, producing transcripts analogous to mouse ICER products.
Conclusions:
- CREM is an evolutionarily conserved gene with significant sequence and functional similarity across species.
- The conserved nature of CREM underscores its fundamental role in regulating cAMP-mediated transcription in neuroendocrine pathways.
- Human CREM function, particularly its inducibility, mirrors that of the mouse, highlighting conserved regulatory mechanisms.