| he mouse ;In order to study in detail the regulatory sequences of the H19 gene, constructs that contain the entire gene along with various amounts of ;The H19 locus was identified by constructing a fetal liver cDNA library and examining fetal liver specific clones for the diagnostic levels in C3H/He, BALB/cJ and C57BL/6 inbred mouse strain. The H19 gene is expressed in visceral endoderm, fetal liver and fetal gut, tissues that express also high levels of AFP. In addition, the H19 gene is expressed in fetal and adult myocardium and skeletal muscle. These tissues do not express detectable levels AFP. The expression of the H19 gene in myocardium and skeletal muscle is not under the control of the raf locus. Northern blot analysis was used to examine the expression of the H19 gene in cells in culture. The structure and the sequences of the H19 gene, which is highly conserved among mammalian species, were determined and compared to those of the AFP gene. The results suggest that although the AFP and H19 genes do not share a common, evolutionary ancestor, they contain in their... |
