CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GENOMIC STRUCTURE, CHROMOSOMAL LOCATION, PROMOTER, AND DEVELOPMENTAL EXPRESSION OF THE GAMMA-GLOBIN TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR CP2

We recently cloned murine and human cDNAs that encode CP2, a cellular transcription factor that interacts with the alpha-globin promoter as well as with additional cellular and viral promoter elements. We have now characterized the genomic structure, chromosome location, promoter , and expression pattern of the factor. Genes for the murine and human mRNAs contained 16 and 15 exons, respectively. Both genes spanned app roximately 30 kilobases of chromosomal DNA, and among coding exons, al l exon/intron boundaries were conserved. The human gene for CP2 was fo und to reside on chromosome 12 while the murine gene mapped to the dis tal end of chromosome 15, near Gdc-1, Wnt-1, and Rarg, a region synten ic with human chromosome 12. The murine and human promoters initiated mRNAs at multiple start sites in a conserved region that spanned more than 450 nucleotides. Lastly, a study of the pattern of CP2 gene expre ssion showed that the factor was expressed in all adult and fetal muri ne tissues examined from at least day 9.5 of development.