His-1: A noncoding RNA implicated in mouse leukemogenesis

The His-1 gene is highly conserved among vertebrate species and is transcri bed as a single spliced and polyadenylated cytoplasmic RNA that shares seve ral features in common with the emerging class of untranslated RNAs. A role for the His-1 gene in neoplastic transformation was first indicated by the identification of transcriptionally activated His-1 genes in a series of m ouse leukemias, and more recent studies with antisense His-1 RNAs suggest t hat His-1 is involved in an oncogenic pathway that controls cell cycle prog ression. The His-1 gene is normally regulated in a developmental and tissue -specific manner, and functional analysis of the promoter region has identi fied gene silencing as one of the mechanisms responsible for the narrow tis sue distribution of the RNA. Although His-1 function is incompletely unders tood at the present time, the expression of the gene at an early stage of c horoid plexus development suggests that future strategies to delete the His -1 gene in the whole animal will provide insight into the role of this RNA in mammalian development.