Gene structure of mouse Cyp3a11: evidence for an enhancer element within its 5' flanking sequences

A mouse Cyp3a11 gene was isolated from a mouse sperm DNA library with mouse Cyp3a11 cDNA as a probe. The nucleotide sequences determined for the gene and the 5' flanking region revealed that the mouse Cyp3a11 gene was composed of 13 exons and 12 introns. The exons spun about 23 kb. The nucleotide sequence of the exons was completely identical to Cyp3a11 cDNA. Within the 5' flanking sequence, putative binding sites of several transcriptional factors were found. Transient transfection assays were carried out with HepG2 cells, a human hepatoma cell line, using constructs containing different lengths of 5' flanking sequence fused to a reporter, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. The results showed that a cis-acting element(s) was located from -1609 to -907.