Jj. Rushton et al., CHARACTERIZATION OF A PROMOTER WITHIN THE FIRST INTRON OF THE HUMAN CD4 GENE, European journal of biochemistry, 245(3), 1997, pp. 768-773
The CD4 molecule is subject to complex regulation during T cell differ
entiation and activation. The elements regulating CD4 gene expression
have only partially been defined. In this report, we identified a prom
oter element located in the first intron of the CD4 gene. This promote
r preferentially functions in T cell lines and is preferentially activ
e in CD4+, CD8+ cells. These findings are similar to other systems in
which multiple promoters define tissue- and developmental-specific pat
terns of expression. Through a series of deletions, electrophoretic mo
bility shift assays and exonuclease III protection assays, we localize
d the basal promoter element to a 32-bp fragment. This element lacks p
otential binding domains for myb and ets, both of which have previousl
y been shown to be involved in the function of the 5' murine and human
CD4 promoter, and this suggests the presence of a novel, T-cell-speci
fic transcription factor. These results also suggest that the CD4 expr
ession requires the use of multiple regulatory elements located throug
hout the CD4 gene.