Tissue factor (TF) is a cellular receptor and cofactor for factor VII/VIIa which initiates the blood coagulation cascade. We have investigated the role of 5'-flanking DNA sequences in regulating the expression of the human TF gene in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Using a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene, we attempted to transfect primary cultured HUVEC (passage 3-4) with calcium phosphate coprecipitation, DEAE Dextran, lipopolyamine-coated DNA or electroporation. Electroporation in HEPES-buffered saline of 1 x 10(7) cells at 200V and 250 microF was found to be optimal. Using these conditions, varying lengths of TF 5'-flanking sequences coupled to the CAT reporter gene were tested in transient expression studies. CAT expression corrected for variation in transfection efficiency and cell viability revealed that the sequences between -111 and +14 base pairs are essential for minimal transcriptional activity. This region contains consensus sequences for a TATA box and three Sp1 binding sites. A domain from -382 to -111bp, which contains two AP-1 consensus elements, promoted high levels of gene expression. This transcriptional activity was repressed by 50% with constructs containing sequences between -550 and -382 bp. A further 2-fold drop in transcription activity was attributed to the region between -948 and -550 bp. These results suggest that the basal transcription of the human TF gene in HUVEC is mediated through at least two negative regulatory elements upstream of the proximal promoter domain. The proximal promoter region which contains two AP-1 sites is essential for efficient transcription.
Dideoxy ®ngerprinting (ddF) is a hybrid technique which combines aspects of single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and dideoxy sequencing to detect the presence of single base changes in a de®ned fragment of nucleic acid. ddF is no more technically demanding than SSCP, yet it is more sensitive in detecting point mutations. We describe here the adaptation of conventional ddF to an automated sequencing system usinḡ uorescent Cy5 labeled primers. We show that automated RNA-based ddF (ARddF) has several advantages over conventional radioisotope-based ddF, including: (1) analysis of larger nucleic acid fragments (up to 10 3 bp), due to the ability to continuously analyse and compile sequencing information; (2) greater reliability for distinguishing mutant sequences from wild type sequences (particularly when the mutation leads to gain or loss of a dideoxy termination segment); (3) the use of¯uorescent labeled primers, making ARddF less hazardous than methods requiring radionucleotides. The use of ARddF in conjunction with new methods for isolating RNA from a small number of cells facilitates mutational analysis of small tissue biopsies and other limited samples, and will allow more widespread application of mutational screening in the setting of clinical diagnostic laboratories.
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