科研之友
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摘要
The New World monkey NWM), Callithrix jacchus, a preferred model in medical research, displays an interesting endocrine regulation of reproduction: LH, the heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone, is functionally replaced by the chorionic gonadotropin CG), a hormone indispensable for establishment of pregnancy in humans and normally expressed in the placenta. In the marmoset pituitary, the expression of the b-subunit CGB) gene is regulated similar to human LH b-subunit, but its placental regulation is unknown. This study intended to decipher the underlying mechanism of tissue-specific expression of CGB in the marmoset placenta. We identified a new placental transcriptional start site, described a new, previously undiscovered exon, and define a novel placental core promoter in the marmoset CGB gene. This promoter contains a TATA box and binding sites for activating protein 2 and selective promoter factor 1, the latter acting synergistically by forming a regulation cassette. Differential first exon usage directed the tissue-specific expression. Methylation analyses revealed a tissue-specific pattern in the placental promoter indicating additional epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Our findings point toward a hitherto unknown evolutionary plasticity in the LH/ CG hormonal system in NWM, which could be used as a model to study human CGB regulation in clinical pathologies.
- 出版日期2011-12
