GENE-REGULATION IN MEGAKARYOCYTE

Analysis of the mechanisms which control the differentiation of the me gakaryocytic lineage is a major commitment to understand the productio n of circulating blood platelets. One way to approach this question is to examine the promoter domain of a marker gene which is expressed ex clusively in the megakaryocytic lineage and at an early stage of the d ifferenciation process. For this purpose the gene coding for the plate let specific glycoprotein IIb was isolated and its promoter was analys ed. This promoter contains positive and negative DNA responsive elemen ts that are responsible for the cell specific expression of the gene. With this promoter region it is now possible to direct the expression of heterologous genes in vivo using the transgenic approach.