Structure and expression of the orphan nuclear receptor SHP gene

To determine the organization of the orphan nuclear receptor SHP gene (Seol, W., Choi, H.-S., and Moore, D.D. (1996) Science 272, 1336-1339), genomic clones were isolated from human and mouse genomic libraries. The SHP gene was composed of two exons interrupted by a single intron spanning approximately 1.8 kilobases in human and 1.2 kilobases in mouse. Genomic Southern blot analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization of human metaphase chromosomes indicated that the SHP gene is located at the human chromosome 1p36.1 subband. The 5'-flanking regions of human and mouse SHP genes were highly conserved, showing 77% homology in the region of approximately 600 nucleotides upstream from the transcription start site. Primer extension analysis was carried out to determine the transcription start site of human SHP to 32 nucleotides downstream of a potential TATA box. The human SHP gene was specifically expressed in fetal liver, fetal adrenal gland, adult spleen, and adult small intestine. As expected from this expression pattern, the activity of the mouse SHP promoter measured by transient transfection was significantly higher in the adrenal-derived Y1 cells than HeLa cells.