Genomic organization and promoter analysis of the human heat shock factor 2 gene

Heat shock factor 2 (HSF2) is a member of the heat shock transcription fact or family, which appears to be activated during differentiation and develop ment rather than on cellular stress. Here we report the isolation and chara cterization of the human hsf2 gene and its 5'-flanking region. The transcri ption unit of the human hsf2 gene consists of 13 exons dispersed over 33 kb p of genomic DNA on chromosome 6. The hsf2 mRNA is transcribed from multipl e start sites, and initiation from the major site results in a transcript o f 2.45 kb. A functional promoter, as determined by the ability to direct ex pression of a transiently transfected luciferase reporter gene, resides in a 950-bp upstream region of the human hsf2 gene. Examination of the core pr omoter sequence revealed a high GC content and lack of a canonical TATA box . This feature seems to be common among various species, as comparison of t he hsf2 proximal promoter sequences from human, mouse, and rat showed disti nct conserved regions. Moreover, the overall architecture of the human hsf2 gene is similar to its mouse counterpart. A comparison between human hsf2 gene and other hsf genes showed striking similarities in exon size. However , the exons are assembled in an hsf-specific manner.