A 5' ELEMENT OF THE CHICKEN BETA-GLOBIN DOMAIN SERVES AS AN INSULATORIN HUMAN ERYTHROID-CELLS AND PROTECTS AGAINST POSITION EFFECT IN DROSOPHILA

Citation
Jh. Chung et al., A 5' ELEMENT OF THE CHICKEN BETA-GLOBIN DOMAIN SERVES AS AN INSULATORIN HUMAN ERYTHROID-CELLS AND PROTECTS AGAINST POSITION EFFECT IN DROSOPHILA, Cell, 74(3), 1993, pp. 505-514
Citations number
51
Categorie Soggetti
Biology,"Cytology & Histology
Journal title
CellACNP
ISSN journal
00928674
Volume
74
Issue
3
Year of publication
1993
Pages
505 - 514
Database
ISI
SICI code
0092-8674(1993)74:3<505:A5EOTC>2.0.ZU;2-V
Abstract
We have characterized an element near the 5' boundary of the chicken b eta-globin domain that insulates a reporter gene from the activating e ffects of a nearby beta-globin locus control region (5'HS2) when assay ed in the human erythroid cell line K562. We show that the insulation mechanism is directional, that it operates at the level of transcripti on, and that it involves the alteration of chromatin structure over th e promoter of the gene. The insulator has no significant stimulatory o r inhibitory effects of its own. In transgenic Drosophila, the insulat or protects the white minigene from position effects. The action of th e insulator thus is not restricted to erythroid or mammalian cells, su ggesting that such elements may serve an important and widely distribu ted function in the organization of chromatin structure.