Transcriptional Regulation of 'Hox-C' Genes (Transcriptionele Regulatie van 'Hox-C' Genen)

摘要

During vertebrate development cells are informed about their position within anembryo, enabling them to form the correct morphological structures. During the last decade it has become evident that positional information in the neck and trunk region of an embryo is encoded by expression of certain sets of so-called Hox-C genes. The aim of the research, described in the thesis, is to gain a better insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying region-specific expression of Hox-C genes (and of Hox-2.3 in particular) in the mouse. Contents: Characterization of the murine Hox-2.3 promoter: involvement of the transcription factor USF (MLTF); The murine Hox-2.4 promoter contains a functional octamer motif; Regulation of the Hox-2.3 gene in vivo: evidence for several cis-acting regulatory elements and for cooperative interactions between two of them; Protein-DNA interactions at a Hox-2 regulatory element conferring region-specific expression; Induction of Hox-2 genes in P19 embryocarcinoma cells is dependent on the retinoic acid receptor alpha.