CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MOUSE HISTONE DEACETYLASE-2 GENE

Histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2) is a component of a complex that mediate s transcriptional repression in mammalian cells. A mouse HDAC2 cDNA wa s used to identify several recombinant clones containing the entire mo use HDAC2 gene. The mouse HDAC2 gene spans over 36 kilobase pairs and is composed of 14 exons (ranging from 58 to 362 nucleotides in length) and 13 introns (ranging from 75 base pairs to 19 kilobase pairs in le ngth). Primer extension analysis with total RNA from NIH3T3 cells reve aled a major transcriptional start site at 221 base pairs 5' of the AT G translational start codon. Upstream of the transcriptional start sit e, no canonical TATA box was found, but binding sites for several know n transcription factors were identified. Transient transfection studie s with 5' deletion mutants localized the promoter to no more than 76 b ase pairs upstream from the major transcriptional start site. Fluoresc ence in situ hybridization mapped mouse HDAC2 to chromosomal location 10B1, which is in close proximity to the growth factor-inducible gene fisp-12. Information concerning the genomic organization and promoter of HDAC2 will be useful in studies of the regulation of histone deacet ylase activities, which in turn are important in studies of the regula tion of transcriptional repression in mammalian cells.