Pm. Price et al., REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION BY THE RAT EGF GENE PROMOTER IN NORMAL AND ISCHEMIC MURINE KIDNEY-CELLS, American journal of physiology. Renal, fluid and electrolyte physiology, 37(4), 1995, pp. 664-670
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a small polypeptide belonging to a cl
ass of molecules that can mediate cell growth, differentiation, and ac
ute phase responses. EGF mRNA is transcribed primarily in cells of the
salivary gland and the kidney. We have found that the tissue and cell
ular specificities of EGF gene expression are controlled by a promoter
region located upstream from the start of mRNA transcription. In a va
riety of experimentally induced forms of acute renal failure, the mRNA
and protein levels for kidney EGF fall markedly and remain low for a
prolonged period. This decrease was determined by nuclear runoff trans
cription to be a consequence of diminished transcription of the EGF ge
ne rather than increased instability of the mRNA. Using transgenic mic
e, we found the effect of renal ischemia on EGF mRNA transcription to
be a result of a disease-mediated interruption of the function of this
upstream promoter region, presumably from alterations in the activity
of one or more cellular trans-acting factors.