REGULATION OF EXPRESSION OF MILK PROTEIN GENES - A REVIEW

The regulation of expression of milk Protein genes is increasingly bei ng studied impact on animal breeding and dairy production, (2) for the expression of pharmaceutical proteins in milk and (3) as a model syst em for developmentally and multi-hormonally controlled tissue-specific gene expression. Therefore a large amount of new data has accumulated since previous reviews on this subject and the present review focuses mainly on these new data. Tissue specific (MPBF, MGF) and ubiquitous (Oct- 1, NF1) nuclear factors have been identified that probably are i nvolved in the expression of these genes. Furthermore, negatively acti ng factors also seem to be involved in the regulation of expression of these genes. Other elements that have been shown to influence the exp ression of these genes have been identified up to several kb upstream from the transcription initiation start site. Using the regulatory seq uences of milk protein genes, many different pharmaceutically interest ing proteins have been produced in the mammary gland of transgenic ani mals.