SPECIFIC VESICULAR ACETYLCHOLINE TRANSPORTER PROMOTERS LIE WITHIN THEFIRST INTRON OF THE RAT CHOLINE-ACETYLTRANSFERASE GENE

The sequence encoding the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) has recently been localized within the first intron of the choline ace tyltransferase (ChAT) gene in various species. In rat, we previously i dentified a class of VAChT mRNAs that may originate from the same prom oter region as two ChAT mRNAs. Here, we demonstrate by a detailed anal ysis of the 5'-noncoding region of the VAChT gene, that two specific V AChT promoters lie within the first intron of the ChAT gene. Two VAChT mRNAs are generated from these promoters. These results demonstrate t hat the promoter regions of these two genes are intermingled, which hi ghlight the unique organization of the ChaT/VAChT gene locus.