Coactivation of human α1- and α2-globin genes in single induced MEL cells containing one human α-globin locus

摘要

We developed a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay, performed on single isolated cells, to demonstrate the coexpression of human α1- and α2-globin mRNA in induced mouse erythroleukemic cells containing a single human α-globin locus. These results indicate that both α1 and α2 genes are activated from the same α-globin gene locus implying that HS-40-dependent transcriptional activation is mediated, either by a simultaneous interaction of HS-40 with both α1 and α2-globin gene promoters, or by a dynamic process characterized by alternative, but short-lived, interactions with each α-globin gene promoter.