O. Billet et al., IN-VIVO ACTIVITY OF THE HEPATITIS-B VIRUS CORE PROMOTER - TISSUE-SPECIFICITY AND TEMPORAL REGULATION, Journal of virology, 69(9), 1995, pp. 5912-5916
The contribution of the hepatitis B virus enhancers I and Il in the re
gulation of the activity of the core and the X promoters was assessed
in transgenic mice. Surprisingly, despite the presence of heterologous
promoters linked 5' of the X gene, the transgene expression is mostly
due to core promoter (Cp) activity present in the X coding sequence.
Moreover, the restriction of Cp activity to hepatic tissue required th
e combined action of both enhancers I and II, whereas the proximity of
these two enhancers was insufficient to confer tissue specificity on
Xp activity. Furthermore, the liver-specific activity of the Cp was de
velopmentally regulated in an enhancer I-independent manner.