CLONING AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION OF THE MURINE EPIDERMAL-TYPE FATTY-ACID-BINDING PROTEIN GENE (FABPE)

We succeeded in cloning the gene encoding the murine epidermal-type fa tty acid binding protein (E-FABP). To avoid the screening of pseudogen es, the presence of which was shown by PCR, we designed an intron-spec ific probe and screened a bacterial artificial chromosome library from mouse embryonic stem cells. One of the clones obtained was analysed b y restriction with various enzymes and an 11-kb EcoRI fragment with th e complete gene was subcloned. The gene revealed the canonical exon/in tron FABP structure consisting of four exons (112, 173, 102 and 544 bp , respectively) and three introns (2217, 327 and 546 bp, respectively) . The exon sequences were identical with the cDNA encoding mouse E-FAB P (Krieg, P., Feil, S., Furstenberger, G., Bowden, T.G., 1993. Tumor-s pecific overexpression of a novel keratinocyte lipid-binding protein. Identification and characterisation of a cloned sequence activated dur ing multistage carcinogenesis in mouse skin. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 17362 -17369). Of the 5' region, 2470 bp were sequenced and searched for tra nscription factor binding sites. Putative responsive elements within t he promoter region were identified that may be responsible for the wid e expression observed for E-FABP in mouse tissues. The Il-kb EcoRI fra gment was used to localise Fabpe on chromosome 3 in the region 3A1-3 b y fluorescence in-situ hybridisation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.