Genome organization and expression of the rat ACBP gene family

Acyl-CoA-Binding Protein (ACBP)/Diazepam-Binding Inhibitor (DBI) is a 10 kD protein which has been implicated in a surprisingly large number of biochemical functions. We have unambiguously demonstrated that ACBP binds acyl-CoA esters with high affinity and in vivo functions as an acyl-CoA ester pool former. We have molecularly cloned and characterized the rat ACBP gene family which comprises one expressed and four processed pseudogenes. One of these was shown to exist in two allelic forms. A comprehensive computer-aided analysis of the promoter region of the expressed ACBP gene revealed that it exhibits all the hallmarks of typical housekeeping genes. In addition, the promoter region harbors a number of potential tissue specific cis-acting elements that may in part regulate the level of ACBP expression in specialized cells.