ANALYSIS OF REGULATORY REGIONS OF THE CILIARY NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE IN TRANSGENIC MICE

IN order to study the regulatory regions of the human ciliary neurotro phic factor (CNTF) gene we made constructs containing sequences upstre am and downstream of CNTF coding regions and the lacZ gene and analyse d their expression in transgenic mice. We show that 240 bp upstream of the translation start codon are sufficient for the transcription of t he lacZ gene. A further 4kb upstream sequence is required for the expr ession of the transgene in Schwann cells. These two upstream regions t ogether with a 2kb downstream fragment drive high level of expression of the lacZ gene in the sciatic nerve. Our results indicate that these three fragments contain regulatory regions able to mimic the CNTF exp ression pattern in the mouse peripheral nervous system.